Rights groups decry Israeli killing of journalist Amal Khalil as 'war crime'
Rights groups said Thursday that an Israeli attack in south Lebanon that killed reporter Amal Khalil and wounded another journalist earlier this year was an apparent "war crime".
The attack took place in the village of Al-Tiri on April 22, days after a ceasefire was announced between Israel and Hezbollah.
Khalil, a 42-year-old reporter for Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, and freelance camerawoman Zeinab Faraj had taken refuge in a building after an Israeli strike hit a vehicle travelling in front of theirs.
The building was subsequently attacked, and while Faraj was rescued, Lebanese authorities accused the Israeli army of obstructing efforts to save Khalil while she was still alive.
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Lebanese rights group The Legal Agenda on Thursday released the findings of separate investigations into the attack.
HRW said the Israeli strikes "included apparently deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian objects, which would make them war crimes".
Amnesty decried a "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 pair were civilians, noting Israeli drones were present 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 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".
Khalil was a veteran correspondent for Al-Akhbar and had consistently reported from south Lebanon, both after Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2 by attacking Israel, and during a previous conflict in 2023-2024.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, "15 journalists and media workers have been killed by Israel" in Lebanon since October 2023.
That month, Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah was killed and six others were wounded in an Israeli attack, including AFP journalists Dylan Collins and Christina Assi, who had to have a leg amputated.
In November, Al-Mayadeen correspondent Farah Omar and videographer Rabih al-Maamari were killed in Tayr Harfa, alongside local contributor Hussein Aqil.
In October 2024, Al Mayadeen videographer and broadcast engineer Mohammad Reda and Ghassan Najjar and Al-Manar videographer Wissam Qassem were Killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit a marked compound housing media workers in Hasbaya.
In March 2026, Al-Manar news anchor Mohamad Sherri was Killed in an airstrike in Zuqaq al-Blat, Beirut.
Al-Manar correspondent Ali Shoeib, Al Mayadeen reporter Fatima Ftouni and Freelance videographer Mohammad Ftouni were also killed that month in Kfarhouna.
Amnesty's Heba Morayef said that "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 air strikes, including direct attacks on civilians".
Source: Agence France Presse, Naharnet
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