Rights groups call Israeli strike that killed journalist war crime

Human rights groups accused Israel of carrying out an apparent war crime in southern Lebanon, saying Israeli forces targeted two journalists in an April 22 attack that killed al-Akhbar reporter Amal Khalil and seriously wounded freelance camera operator Zainab Faraj.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said separate investigations found that Israeli forces “knew or should have known” the women were civilians as they reported from the town of al-Tiri. The Legal Agenda, a Lebanese rights group, also said its investigation found that the Israeli military’s actions “constitute war crimes and grave violations of international humanitarian law,” Al Jazeera reported.

Israel’s military denied targeting journalists. It told the BBC that three strikes carried out by its forces were aimed at two Hezbollah operatives and said the incident was under internal review. Amnesty said the military told it that “the incident underwent a preliminary review and relevant lessons were implemented accordingly,” and that it “regrets any harm caused to journalists.”

“The Israeli military says it does not target journalists, but the facts and evidence show that it has repeatedly done so. Amal Khalil and Zainab Faraj are the latest victims in a long series of such attacks,” said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch. He added: “Israeli forces’ continued killing of journalists shows a brazen willingness to commit atrocities without any fear of consequences.”

The groups said they reviewed photos, videos, witness testimony, media reports and communications involving the Lebanese Red Cross and the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon, known as Unifil.

According to Human Rights Watch’s reconstruction, the first Israeli strike hit a car driving in front of the journalists at about 2:30 p.m., killing two men they knew, Ali Bazzi and Mohammed al-Hourani. Khalil and Faraj then abandoned their vehicle and took shelter near a nearby building. They called the Lebanese Red Cross for help, and at 3 p.m. Unifil relayed a Lebanese Red Cross request to the Israeli military seeking access to rescue them.

Human Rights Watch said a second strike between 3:21 p.m. and 3:42 p.m. hit the journalists’ parked car, injuring Khalil. The women then sheltered inside the building, which was destroyed by a third strike at about 4:25 p.m.

Both groups said Israeli quadcopter drones appeared to monitor the journalists during the attack. Faraj told Amnesty the drones came “extremely close, coming through the broken roof. Less than a meter away.” She said, “I was covering my face, thinking of a video I had seen where a drone killed someone like that. I thought it would explode in my face.”

A Lebanese Red Cross team entered al-Tiri after 5 p.m., but Human Rights Watch said paramedics were forced to retreat after coming under fire from a drone-delivered stun grenade. Witnesses told the group the team had not recovered Khalil. Photos reviewed by Human Rights Watch showed damage to a Lebanese Red Cross ambulance that it said was consistent with small-arms fire.

A report from Tebnin Governmental Hospital indicated Khalil was most likely still alive when paramedics withdrew at about 5:53 p.m., Human Rights Watch said. The report said she died around 7 p.m. of cardiac arrest after suffering a head injury that caused severe bleeding. Rescue workers recovered her body at about 11 p.m.

The Israeli military said the strikes were “part of a series of events” in which two Hezbollah operatives were killed. Al Jazeera reported that the army said at the time 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 preventing rescue teams from reaching the area.

Amnesty’s Middle East director, Heba Morayef, said, “There can be no justification for targeting civilians who sought shelter in search of safety.” Amnesty said the incident should be investigated as a war crime. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty called for an independent investigation and urged Lebanon to accept the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

The Committee to Protect Journalists says 27 journalists and media workers have been killed this year, including nine in Lebanon and seven in Israel, the occupied West Bank and Gaza, according to the BBC.