An Israeli strike in southern Lebanon that killed journalist Amal Khalil and wounded another reporter earlier this year likely constituted a war crime, leading international rights groups said Thursday.
The attack took place in the village of al-Tiri on April 22, days after a cease-fire was announced between Israel and Lebanon.
Khalil, a 42-year-old reporter for Lebanese daily al-Akhbar, and freelance camerawoman Zeinab Faraj had taken refuge in a building after an Israeli strike hit a vehicle traveling in front of theirs.
The building was subsequently attacked and while Faraj was rescued, Lebanese authorities accused the Israeli army of obstructing efforts to save Khalil while she was still alive.
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Lebanese rights group The Legal Agenda released Thursday the findings of separate investigations into the attack.
HRW said the Israeli strikes "included apparently deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian objects, which would make them war crimes."
Amnesty decried a "direct attack on civilians which should be investigated as a war crime."
Both groups said the Israeli army "knew or should have known" that the pair were civilians, noting Israeli drones were present at the attack site.
The Legal Agenda said its investigation found that the Israeli military's actions "constitute war crimes and grave violations of international humanitarian law."
The Israeli army at the time said it struck a vehicle "that had departed from a military structure used by Hezbollah," and that "subsequently, the structure from which the individuals had fled was also struck."
It denied its forces prevented rescue teams from reaching the area.
Amnesty said the Israeli army told it that "the incident underwent a preliminary review, and relevant lessons were implemented accordingly," adding that it "regrets any harm caused to journalists."
Khalil was a veteran correspondent for al-Akhbar and had consistently reported from south Lebanon, both after Lebanon-based Hezbollah joined the Middle East war on March 2 by attacking Israel and during a previous conflict in 2023-2024.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, "15 journalists and media workers have been killed by Israel" in Lebanon since October 2023.
That month, Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah was killed and six others were wounded in an Israeli attack, including AFP journalists Dylan Collins and Christina Assi, who had to have a leg amputated.
Amnesty's Heba Morayef said that "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 with its unlawful airstrikes, including direct attacks on civilians."
