An Israeli attack that killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil and seriously wounded camerawoman Zeinab Faraj in south Lebanon on 22 April 2026 was a direct attack on civilians which should be investigated as a war crime, said Amnesty International today.
Testimonies from the sole survivor and first responders, corroborated by audiovisual material, coordination records, and external reporting, indicate that the two journalists, both civilians, had taken shelter after an air strike on the car in front of them had killed two men. Over the following two hours, with drones hovering at close range overhead, two further air strikes hit first their car parked near them and then the building where they were sheltering.
Amnesty International’s investigation paints a harrowing picture of a direct attack on two civilians while they had sought refuge from Israeli attacks.
Heba Morayef, Amnesty International
“Amnesty International’s investigation paints a harrowing picture of a direct attack on two civilians while they had sought refuge from Israeli attacks. After the first strike had eliminated the military-stated target, and with two drones flying low overhead, the Israeli military knew or should have known that two civilian women were sheltering in that building. Despite this, they proceeded with what we have reasonable grounds to believe amounted to a direct attack on civilians, demonstrating a shocking disregard for international humanitarian law,” said Heba Morayef, Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.
