Amnesty: Israeli strike that killed journalist Amal Khalil should be investigated as war crime

The Israeli strike that killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil and seriously wounded videographer Zeinab Faraj in southern Lebanon on April 22 was a direct attack on civilians and should be investigated as a war crime, Amnesty International said Thursday in a statement.

The strike took place in Tiri, southern Lebanon, during the second month of renewed fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

"Testimonies from the sole survivor and first responders, corroborated by audiovisual evidence, coordination logs, and information from external sources, indicate that the two journalists, both civilians, had sought shelter after an airstrike on the car ahead of them killed two men. Over the next two hours, as drones flew overhead at low altitude, two additional strikes successively targeted their parked vehicle and then the building in which they had taken cover," the NGO said.

Damning findings

"Amnesty International's investigation paints a damning picture of a direct attack against two civilians who had sought shelter from Israeli strikes. After the first strike eliminated the claimed military target, and while two drones were flying low over the area, the Israeli army knew, or should have known, that two civilian women had taken refuge in this building. Despite this, it continued its strikes, which gives us reasonable grounds to believe this was a direct attack on civilians, revealing a shocking disregard for international humanitarian law," Heba Morayef, Amnesty International's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in the statement.

"The fact that the two journalists were in what Israel designated as a no-return zone does not make them legitimate targets. All parties to a conflict are under a clear obligation to always distinguish between civilians and military objectives and to direct attacks only at military objectives. Nothing can justify targeting civilians who had sought refuge to reach safety. This attack must, as soon as possible, be the subject of an independent and impartial investigation as a war crime," the organization added.

On April 22, the Israeli army carried out three strikes on Tiri, located in an area the army designated as a "forward defense" zone, where civilians are barred from returning. The first strike, at 2:25 p.m., hit a car and killed two men. The two journalists, who were following in a second vehicle, left their car and took shelter in a nearby building because two drones were flying overhead and they feared further strikes.

Since March 2, 4,333 people have been killed by Israel in Lebanon, according to the latest figures from the Lebanese Health Ministry, released three days ago. Hezbollah strikes on Israel have killed at least two Israeli civilians, while at least 39 Israeli soldiers have died in southern Lebanon, according to Israeli media, Amnesty said.

Since the war between Israel and Hezbollah began on Oct. 8, 2023, after the group entered the war in support of Gaza, 22 journalists and media workers have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon, according to press freedom organizations.