Journalist Amal Khalil was killed in April in what human rights organizations describe as a deliberate Israeli military attack. Rescue workers attempting to retrieve her from the rubble were prevented from providing assistance, according to investigations by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Legal Agenda, as reported by Guardian correspondent Will Christou.
The three organizations found that Israeli forces directly targeted Khalil and her colleague Zeinab Faraj with apparent knowledge of their status as journalists. HRW, Amnesty International and Legal Agenda all characterized the strike as a war crime. HRW called on states to halt arms sales to Israel and impose targeted sanctions on Israeli officials responsible for what it described as ongoing crimes.
According to the UN human rights office, Israel has killed at least 15 journalists in Lebanon and 210 in Gaza since 2023. Deliberately attacking journalists constitutes a war crime under international law.
Israel responded by saying it "regrets any harm caused to journalists" and that they were killed "as part of a series of events" in which two Hezbollah military operatives were also killed. The Israeli government did not directly address the organizations' accusations of deliberate targeting or the apparent obstruction of rescue efforts.
The incident raises questions about the treatment of medical personnel and rescue workers during the conflict. The Guardian's reporting indicates that ambulances attempting to reach Khalil faced apparent Israeli attacks, though the material does not provide specific details about those incidents.