Human Rights Groups Call Israeli Killing of Journalist Amal Khalil a 'War Crime'

Lebanese and international human rights organizations have accused Israel of deliberately targeting and killing a Lebanese journalist, and of obstructing medics from reaching her as she lay severely wounded.

Amal Khalil, a veteran reporter for the Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar, was killed in an attack on April 22 in al-Tiri, southern Lebanon. Photojournalist Zainab Faraj was seriously injured.

On March 27, Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International, and the Lebanese rights group The Legal Agenda released findings from separate investigations into the attack.

HRW said Israeli airstrikes "included attacks that appear to have deliberately targeted civilians and civilian objects, which would constitute war crimes." Amnesty condemned "a direct attack on civilians that should be investigated as a war crime."

Both organizations said the Israeli military "knew or should have known" that the two women were civilians, noting that Israeli drones were present at the scene of the attack. The Legal Agenda said its investigation determined that the actions of the Israeli military "constitute war crimes and grave violations of international humanitarian law."

Israeli forces bombed a building where the two journalists had taken shelter after being forced to abandon their vehicle due to earlier Israeli attacks on or near it. According to HRW's report, the Israeli military targeted the building despite appeals from the Lebanese Red Cross, relayed through the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), to evacuate the journalists from it.

HRW said Israeli quadcopter drones appeared to have tracked Faraj and Khalil — whom it assessed the Israeli military knew or should have known were civilians — as they sheltered and were subsequently attacked.

"The Israeli military says it does not target journalists, but the facts and evidence show they have done so repeatedly. Amal Khalil and Zainab Faraj are the latest victims in a long line of such attacks," said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at HRW. "The Israeli forces' continued killing of journalists shows a blatant willingness to commit crimes without fear of consequences."

HRW also said Israeli troops appeared to have obstructed emergency workers trying to reach the journalists after the attack. The report said Israeli forces fired stun grenades, forcing Lebanese Red Cross workers to retreat before they could rescue or treat Khalil.

The rights group cited witnesses and imagery showing an ambulance from the Lebanese Red Crescent arriving at the scene appeared to have been hit by "small-arms fire."

'Concealing the truth'

The Israeli military at the time of the attack said it had struck a vehicle that "had left a military structure used by Hezbollah," and "subsequently, the structure from which the individuals had fled was also struck." Israel denied blocking rescue teams from reaching the area.

Amnesty said the Israeli military said "the incident has been preliminarily reviewed and lessons learned," and "expresses regret over any harm caused to the journalists."

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun had earlier accused Israel of committing war crimes in the killing of journalists, which he said was part of an effort to "conceal the truth about its aggressions against Lebanon."

Israeli forces have repeatedly been accused of carrying out unlawful attacks targeting journalists in Lebanon and Gaza.

In 2025, Israel was responsible for more than two-thirds of journalists killed globally — 84 of 129 — according to cases tracked by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Israel also overwhelmingly was responsible that year for deliberate killings — classified by CPJ as "murder" — carrying out 38 of 47 such crimes documented.

Israeli attacks on journalists have continued this year, killing at least 8 Palestinian journalists, according to the Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate, and 9 journalists in Lebanon, according to figures from CPJ.

"Lebanon must end the impunity for Israeli abuses, and other states should push for accountability and use their leverage with the Israeli government to prevent further crimes," Kaiss said.

Heba Morayef, Amnesty's representative, said "the impunity that Israeli forces have enjoyed in killing journalists and other civilians in Lebanon over the past three years has enabled the Israeli military to continue unlawful strikes, including direct attacks on civilians."