An Israeli airstrike that killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil and wounded her colleague Zeinab Faraj in April amounts to a war crime, three rights groups stated on Thursday.

Probes conducted by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Legal Agenda concluded that Israel intentionally struck Khalil and Faraj while apparently aware they were civilians. The groups urged probes into the incidents as war crimes, and HRW further called on states to stop arms transfers to Israel along with imposing sanctions on officials linked to ongoing violations.

Intentional assaults on civilians, as both journalists were, qualify as war crimes. Israel has killed at least 15 journalists in Lebanon and 210 in Gaza since 2023, per the UN human rights office.

The reports further noted that Israel held back Lebanese ambulances from reaching Khalil and Faraj for hours, at one stage dropping stun grenades on Lebanese Red Cross personnel and firing at their vehicles.

The rescue delay may have contributed to Khalil's death, since hospital records suggest she could have survived for hours after an Israeli strike brought a building down on her and Faraj.

"The evidence shows the Israeli military knew or should have known that Faraj and Khalil were civilians yet attacked them regardless, then blocked paramedics from aiding them for hours," said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch.

Israel expressed regret over harm to journalists and stated the pair died amid a sequence of events that also killed two Hezbollah operatives. Roughly two hours separated the first strike that killed the two men Israel identified as Hezbollah members and a later strike on a building sheltering the journalists.

Amal Khalil, 42, worked for the Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar, while Zeinab Faraj, 21, was a freelance camerawoman and photojournalist. Both had covered the conflict in Lebanon over the prior three years.

On 22 April 2026 the pair traveled to the village of al-Tiri in south Lebanon to check reports of an Israeli withdrawal. They followed a vehicle carrying Ali Nabil Bazzi, a municipal official from Bint Jbeil, and Mohammed Hourani, an associate of the mayor.

Al-Tiri lies inside the area Israel terms its security zone in southern Lebanon, which its forces occupy. Amnesty noted that even though the Israeli military designates it a military zone and restricts access, forces must still differentiate between civilians and fighters.

At 2.25pm, after the journalists entered al-Tiri, the car with Bazzi and Hourani was hit, killing both men. Khalil contacted Lebanese civil defence to request help.

Civil defence teams reached the village entrance and were instructed to halt at a military checkpoint pending Israeli military clearance to proceed safely.

Rescue teams working in active combat zones or Israeli-occupied areas of south Lebanon must use the deconfliction mechanism to obtain safe passage. This includes securing Israeli approval for civil defence requests.

By 5pm the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon had approved a safe route for civil defence, yet Israel had not granted permission.

While awaiting civil defence, Faraj and Khalil exited their vehicle and took cover elsewhere. Israeli quadcopters flew low overhead as the journalists waited, according to Faraj.

"The drones approached very close through the roof, less than a metre from my face and Amal's," she said.

At 3.31pm a civil defence member phoned Khalil and advised her to drive out of the village, since clearance had not been received. About nine minutes later Israel struck the journalists' car, wounding both women.

"Glass and debris flew toward us. My ear felt like it burst. She was bleeding heavily from the nose and head and had shrapnel wounds in her arm and thigh; she could not move her leg," Faraj said.

The two crawled into a nearby building for shelter. They kept calling for help but were informed rescue was impossible without mechanism approval.

At 4.25pm Israel launched a third strike, hitting the building where they sheltered, collapsing it and trapping both under rubble.

At 5pm permission was issued for the Lebanese Red Cross to enter. Rescuers evacuated Faraj, who suffered a fractured skull, serious injuries to her right leg and eye, and a crushed hand. They could not reach Khalil, who remained trapped.

Rescuers faced attack from an Israeli quadcopter that dropped a stun grenade nearby. Witnesses reported hearing gunfire during the operation, and HRW examined photos showing bullet holes in ambulances consistent with small-arms fire.

The rescuers withdrew with only Faraj.

The Israeli military finally approved re-entry for rescue crews at 8.15pm. Khalil's body was recovered at 11pm.

An examination at nearby Tebnine hospital indicated she likely died at 7pm, two-and-a-half hours after the final strike. She remained trapped under rubble during that period while the Israeli military blocked rescue teams from reaching her.

All three organisations demanded accountability for Khalil's death and described it as part of a broader pattern of impunity by Israeli forces toward civilians.

"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 its unlawful airstrikes, including direct attacks on civilians," said Heba Morayef, director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.

"It is well past time that the international community impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel," Morayef added.