Attack in al-Tiri and Calls for Investigation

Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International released separate reports concluding that Amal Khalil and Zeinab Faraj were targeted while reporting in the town of al-Tiri on 22 April. Both groups called for an independent investigation and urged Lebanon to accept the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

Israeli Military’s Response and Disputes

The Israeli military denied targeting the journalists, telling the BBC that the three strikes were aimed at two operatives of the armed group Hezbollah. “The Israeli military says it does not target journalists, but the facts and evidence show that it has repeatedly done so. Amal Khalil and Zeinab Faraj are the latest victims in a long series of such attacks,” said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at HRW.

Evidence and Aftermath of the Strikes

HRW and Amnesty International reviewed photo and video evidence, witness testimony, media reports, and a message from the Lebanese Red Cross to the Israeli military. According to HRW’s reconstruction, the first strike hit a car in front of the journalists at about 14:30 local time, killing two men, Ali Bazzi and Mohammed al-Hourani. The strike forced Khalil and Faraj to abandon their vehicle and seek refuge near a neighboring building. They called the Lebanese Red Cross for help, and at 15:00, the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (Unifil) sent the Israeli military a request to access the site and rescue them.

A second strike, between 15:21 and 15:42, hit the journalists’ parked car, injuring Khalil. She and Faraj then sheltered inside the building, which was destroyed by a third strike at about 16:25. Israeli quadcopter drones appeared to monitor Faraj and Khalil throughout the attack.

“The drones got extremely close, coming through the broken roof. Less than a meter away. I was covering my face, thinking of a video I had seen where a drone killed someone like that. I thought it would explode in my face. The drones didn’t carry visible explosives, but they were hovering and provoking fear constantly,” Faraj told Amnesty.

Phone records showed Khalil remained in contact with first responders and family members as the attacks unfolded. A Lebanese Red Cross team was able to enter the town after 17:00. But when the paramedics began rescue efforts, they came under fire from a drone-delivered stun grenade and were forced to retreat without recovering Khalil, witnesses told HRW. Photographs reviewed by the group also showed damage to the Lebanese Red Cross ambulance that it said was consistent with small-arms fire.

HRW said a report from Tebnin Governmental Hospital indicated that Khalil was most likely still alive when the paramedics were forced to withdraw from the site at around 17:53. The report stated that Khalil died around 19:00 as a result of cardiac arrest. It also said she had a head injury that caused severe bleeding. Her body was eventually recovered by rescue workers at around 23:00.

The Israeli military said the strikes that killed Khalil and wounded Faraj formed “part of a series of events” in which two Hezbollah operatives were killed, and that it “regrets any harm caused to journalists.” It said the incident was under internal review but did not answer follow-up questions from the BBC about the purpose of the second and third strikes.

Both HRW and Amnesty said the evidence showed that Israeli forces “knew or should have known” that the women were civilians. Deliberate attacks on civilians are prohibited under international humanitarian law.

“There can be no justification for targeting civilians who sought shelter in search of safety,” said Heba Morayef, Amnesty’s Middle East director. Kaiss said: “Israeli forces’ continued killing of journalists shows a brazen willingness to commit atrocities without any fear of consequences.”

The Committee to Protect Journalists says 27 journalists and media workers have been killed this year, including nine in Lebanon and seven in Israel, the occupied West Bank and Gaza.