Three human rights organisations have concluded that an Israeli military strike that killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil and seriously wounded her colleague Zeinab Faraj in southern Lebanon on 22 April 2026 constitutes a war crime. Separate investigations by Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International, and Legal Agenda found that Israel deliberately and directly targeted the two journalists with apparent knowledge that they were civilians — a finding Israel disputes. The organisations are calling for an independent investigation and urging Lebanon to accept the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, while HRW has also called on states to halt arms sales to Israel and impose targeted sanctions on Israeli officials responsible for ongoing violations.

Khalil, a 42-year-old reporter for al-Akhbar, a Lebanese newspaper, and Faraj, a 21-year-old freelance camerawoman, had driven to the village of al-Tiri in Israel's self-declared "security zone" in southern Lebanon to verify reports of an Israeli military withdrawal from the area. Shortly after arriving, an Israeli strike hit a car travelling ahead of them, killing two men — Ali Nabil Bazzi, a municipal official, and Mohammed Hourani. The journalists then abandoned their own vehicle and sought shelter, circled throughout by Israeli quadcopter drones that Faraj described as hovering less than a metre from her face inside the building where they hid. A second strike hit the journalists' parked car, injuring both women. A third strike, at around 4:25pm, destroyed the building where they had taken shelter, burying them under rubble.

What followed compounded the tragedy. Lebanese civil defence teams and the Red Cross were blocked from entering al-Tiri for hours, as Israel had not granted the required approval through a deconfliction mechanism that governs rescue access in occupied zones. When Red Cross paramedics were finally permitted entry after 5pm, they came under attack from a drone-delivered stun grenade, and photographs reviewed by investigators showed bullet holes in their ambulances consistent with small-arms fire. They were forced to withdraw having rescued only Faraj, who sustained a fractured skull, severe injuries to her right leg and eye, and a crushed hand. Hospital records indicate Khalil was most likely still alive at that point. She died at approximately 7pm from cardiac arrest caused by severe head trauma. Her body was not recovered until 11pm.

Israel denied targeting the journalists, stating that all three strikes were directed at two Hezbollah operatives in the first vehicle and that it "regrets any harm caused to journalists." The military said a preliminary internal review had been conducted and that relevant lessons had been applied. However, investigators noted a roughly two-hour gap between the first strike and the subsequent attacks on the journalists, and they argued that drone surveillance throughout the incident demonstrated the military knew, or should have known, that the women were civilians. "The evidence is clear that the Israeli military knew, or should have known, that Faraj and Khalil were civilians, but attacked them anyway, and then prevented paramedics from rescuing them for hours," said Ramzi Kaiss, HRW's Lebanon researcher.

The killing of Khalil is part of a broader and deeply alarming pattern. The UN human rights office says Israel has killed at least 15 journalists in Lebanon and 210 in Gaza since 2023. The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that 27 journalists and media workers have been killed so far this year, with nine in Lebanon alone. "The impunity enjoyed by Israeli forces for the killing of journalists and other civilians in Lebanon over the past three years has enabled the Israeli military to continue with its unlawful airstrikes," said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International's director for the Middle East and North Africa, renewing calls for a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel. Following Khalil's death, colleagues held a protest in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, in her memory.