Rights groups decry Israeli killing of Lebanese journalist as ‘war crime’

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International and Lebanese rights groups have accused Israel of intentionally targeting and killing a Lebanese journalist and obstructing medical workers from reaching her as she lay critically wounded. Amal Khalil, a veteran reporter for the Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar, was killed in an attack on April 22 in al-Tiri in southern Lebanon. Photojournalist Zeinab Faraj was critically injured in the same attack.

Coverage Comparison

Reporting on the incident, Al Jazeera and The Hindu both highlighted the findings of separate investigations by Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International, and The Legal Agenda, released on Thursday. The two outlets framed the attack as an apparent war crime, with Al Jazeera emphasizing Israel's deliberate targeting of civilians and The Hindu noting the attack occurred days after a ceasefire was announced between Israel and Hezbollah.

Key Claims

According to HRW, the Israeli strikes "included apparently deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian objects, which would make them war crimes." Amnesty decried the "direct attack on civilians which should be investigated as a war crime." Both groups said the Israeli army "knew or should have known" that the women were civilians, noting that Israeli drones were at the attack site. The Legal Agenda said its investigation found that the Israeli military's actions "constitute war crimes and grave violations of international humanitarian law."

The rights groups detailed that Israeli forces bombed a building where both journalists had taken shelter after being forced to abandon their vehicle because of earlier Israeli strikes on or near their car. The Israeli military targeted the building despite an appeal from the Lebanese Red Cross, relayed through the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), to evacuate the journalists, HRW's report said. Al Jazeera additionally reported that Israeli forces fired a stun grenade, forcing Lebanese Red Cross personnel to retreat before rescuing or treating Khalil, and that a Lebanese Red Crescent ambulance responding to the scene appears to have been hit by small arms fire.

The Israeli army at the time said it struck a vehicle "that had departed from a military structure used by Hezbollah," and that "subsequently, the structure from which the individuals had fled was also struck." It denied its forces prevented rescue teams from reaching the area. Amnesty said the Israeli army told it that "the incident underwent a preliminary review, and relevant lessons were implemented accordingly," adding that it "regrets any harm caused to journalists."

Al Jazeera also cited statistics that Israel was responsible for more than two-thirds of journalists killed globally in 2025, and that at least eight Palestinian journalists have been killed by Israel this year. The Hindu reported that 15 journalists and media workers have been killed by Israel in Lebanon since October 2023.