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| Killing of Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil was a war crime, say rights groups. Photograph: Mohammed Zaatari/AP |
Israeli strike that killed journalist in Lebanon was war crime, say rights groups
Investigation by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty and Legal Agenda shows Israel deliberately attacked Amal Khalil and colleague Zeinab Faraj knowing they were civilians
An Israeli strike that killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil and injured her colleague Zeinab Faraj in April was a war crime, three rights organisations said on Thursday.
Investigations from Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International and Legal Agenda showed that Israel deliberately and directly attacked Khalil and Faraj, with apparent knowledge that they were civilians. The organisations called for the attacks to be investigated as war crimes, while HRW called for states to halt arm sales to Israel and put targeted sanctions on Israeli officials responsible for ongoing crimes.
Deliberate attacks on civilians, which both journalists were, is a war crime. Israel has killed at least 15 journalists in Lebanon and 210 in Gaza since 2023, according to the UN human rights office.
The reports also indicated that Israel delayed Lebanese ambulances from reaching Khalil and Faraj for hours – at one pointing dropping stun grenades on Lebanese Red Cross workers and firing on their ambulances.
The delay in rescue might have led to Khalil’s death, as hospital reports indicate that she might have still been alive hours after an Israeli strike toppled a building on top of her and Faraj.
“The evidence is clear that the Israeli military knew, or should have, that Faraj and Khalil were civilians, but attacked them anyway, and then prevented paramedics from rescuing them for hours,” said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch.
Israel said it “regrets any harm caused to journalists,” and that the journalists were killed “as part of a series of events” during which two Hezbollah military operatives were killed. There was about two hours between the initial strike that killed the two men Israel said were in Hezbollah, and a second strike that targeted a building the journalists were sheltering in.
Amal Khalil was a 42-year-old journalist working for al-Akhbar, a Lebanese newspaper, while Zeinab Faraj was a 21-year-old freelance camerawoman and photojournalist. Both had been active in covering the war in Lebanon over the last three years.
On 22 April 2026, the pair drove to the village of al-Tiri, south Lebanon, to verify reports that Israeli troops had left the area.... READ MORE https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/06/israeli-strike-that-killed-journalist-in-lebanon-was-war-say-rights-groups