On Wednesday, Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon killed one journalist, Amal Khalil, and left another critically injured. The killing has provoked international outrage after reports of a “double-tap strike” emerged: Lebanese officials said that Israel had even targeted rescue workers nearby to prevent them from providing life-saving assistance to Khalil.
While Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned Israel’s “deliberate and consistent targeting of journalists”, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said that such targeting and obstruction of rescue efforts amounted to “war crimes”. He added that his country will pursue the case in international forums. Israel has denied the charges.
Who was Amal Khalil? Was she deliberately targeted and if so, what does international law say about the targeting of journalists in conflict zones? Here’s what to know.
Who was Amal Khalil?
Khalil, 42, was a reporter with the Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar. Born in 1984 in the town of al-Basiriyah in southern Lebanon’s Sidon district, her initial years were spent in the shadow of the Lebanese civil war (1975-90). She studied literature and worked as an activist before joining al-Akhbar in 2006, where she covered a range of issues concerning the country’s southern provinces for two decades.
Along with freelance photojournalist Zeinab Faraj, Khalil was reporting on an earlier Israeli attack in the town of al-Tiri on Wednesday when an initial strike hit a vehicle in front of theirs, prompting the duo to seek shelter in a house nearby.
Reports suggest that the duo were wearing protective equipment with press signs. When relief teams attempted to rescue them, a second Israeli strike hit the house they were sheltering in. While rescue workers managed to pull Faraj out of the rubble, Israeli forces fired at them when they tried to go back for Khalil.
In a statement, the Union of Journalists in Lebanon said: “Rescue teams were not allowed to enter until about half an hour after the attack. During the attempt to retrieve Zeinab and search for Amal, rescue teams were targeted with a stun grenade and gunfire.”
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The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that it “does not target journalists and acts to mitigate harm to them while maintaining the safety and security of its troops”.
According to its statement, IDF troops had identified two vehicles that had “departed from a military structure used by Hezbollah”. It said that the Israeli Air Force struck one of the vehicles when it “crossed a Forward Defense Line and approached the troops in a manner that posed an immediate threat to their safety”. It added that the “structure from which the individuals had fled was also struck”.
“The IDF is not preventing rescue teams from reaching the area. The details of the incident are under review,” the statement said.
Israel’s track record
The IDF, however, has a less-than-stellar record when it comes to holding its personnel accountable for the killings of journalists. In May 2023, the press freedom advocacy group Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) published a special report wherein it documented at least 20 journalist killings by IDF members over 22 years, in which “no one has ever been charged or held responsible” despite numerous IDF probes.
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In its annual report for 2025, CPJ said that of the record 129 journalists killed last year, Israel had been responsible for two-thirds of the total deaths (86). It said that Israel was responsible for two-thirds of all press killings in 2024 as well, and that the IDF has committed more targeted killings of journalists than any other government’s military since CPJ began recording such data in 1992.
“To date, CPJ reporting has found that no one has been held accountable for any targeted killings of a journalist by Israel since October 7, 2023, or in the preceding 22 years. The persistent lack of justice for murdered journalists is a major threat to press freedom,” the 2025 report said.
On October 7, 2023, the Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out a massive attack on Israel, killing close to 1,200 people and taking some 250 people hostage. Israel launched an offensive in Gaza the next day, which has since then killed over 70,000 Palestinians (by some estimates) and triggered a humanitarian crisis. A ceasefire is currently in place.
CPJ has recorded instances where journalists targeted by Israel in Gaza were known to have reported at length on apparent Israeli war crimes, such as starvation or attacks on hospitals. Among those targeted was Hossam Shabat, a 23-year-old Palestinian correspondent for Al Jazeera and the US-based media outlet Drop Site News, who was killed on March 24, 2025, in an Israeli strike on his car near a hospital in northern Gaza.
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In the past, the IDF has also attempted to deflect criticism by suggesting that these journalists were part of armed groups. According to CPJ, the most notable example was that of Al Jazeera reporter Anas al-Sharif, who faced years of threats and repeated, unsubstantiated smears by Israel. On August 10, 2025, Al-Sharif was killed alongside three other Al Jazeera staff journalists and two freelancers in a strike on a tent housing journalists.
Last month, after three Lebanese journalists on a reporting assignment were killed in a series of targeted strikes by Israeli forces, a group of UN experts said in a press statement: “We denounce strongly what has now become a standard, dangerous practice of Israel to target and kill journalists and then claim, without providing any credible evidence, that they were involved with armed groups.”
What international law says
During armed conflict, international humanitarian law stipulates specific protections for journalists. The Geneva Conventions, under Article 79 of Additional Protocol I, state that journalists in war zones must be treated as civilians and are entitled to all rights and protections granted to civilians in international (and non-international) armed conflicts, provided they do not participate in the hostilities. Any violation is treated as a grave breach of the Conventions.
Moreover, intentionally directing an attack against a civilian in such armed conflicts also amounts to a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Global rights watchdog Human Rights Watch appeared to emphasise that in its response to Khalil’s death. In a post on X, it said: “Journalists merely doing their reporting are protected as civilians under international law and should not be deliberately targeted. Intentionally targeting civilians is a war crime.”
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Also, UN Security Council Resolution 2222 (adopted on May 27, 2015) reminds all parties in an armed conflict of their obligations to respect media professionals and protect them against all forms of violence.
The humanitarian group International Committee of the Red Cross, however, highlighted a major point of concern. While acknowledging that existing laws “provide enough protection” and constitute a “solid and realistic basis for shielding media professionals from harm”, it pointed out: “The most serious deficiency is not a lack of rules, but a failure to implement existing rules and to systematically investigate, prosecute and punish violations.”
