Rights groups call Israel’s killing of journalist Amal Khalil a ‘war crime’

Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International say Israel seemingly targeted and killed the Lebanese journalist, obstructed rescuers. Lebanese and international rights groups have accused Israel of intentionally targeting and killing a Lebanese journalist and obstructing medical workers from reaching her as she lay critically wounded. Amal Khalil, a veteran reporter for the Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar, was killed in the attack on April 22 in al-Tiri in southern Lebanon . Photojournalist Zainab Faraj was critically injured. On Thursday, Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International and Lebanese rights group The Legal Agenda released the findings of separate investigations into the attack.

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Scoop News DeskIsrael · Published Thursday, August 6, 2026 at 2:28 PM UTCUpdated Thursday, August 6, 2026 at 3:21 PM UTC

Scoop News reporting summary

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According to the report, Israeli forces fired a stun grenade, forcing Lebanese Red Cross personnel to retreat before rescuing or treating Khalil. In 2025, Israel was responsible for more than two-thirds of journalists killed globally – 84 out of 129 – according to cases tracked by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Israeli forces bombed a building where both journalists had taken shelter after being forced to abandon their vehicle because of earlier Israeli strikes on or near their car.