CPJ calls for urgent international investigation into Israel’s killing of Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil

New York, April 23, 2026—Israel’s failure to allow medical crews access to injured Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil in time to save her may constitute a war crime, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Thursday.

Khalil, a reporter for the privately owned local daily newspaper Al-Akhbar, was on assignment documenting the aftermath of attacks in southern Lebanon when she and freelance photojournalist Zeinab Faraj sought shelter in a building after a strike killed two civilians in a vehicle nearby. 

The building the journalists took cover in was then directly hit, trapping them under rubble for hours. Multiple credible reports indicate that ongoing shelling and direct fire at ambulances prevented emergency teams from reaching them in time. 

Colleagues of Khalil, who managed to contact the journalist while she was trapped, confirmed to CPJ that she was in good health after the first strike, but was later found dead when limited access was finally granted to the Red Cross. Faraj remains critically injured.

“This is not the first time that Israel has prevented emergency services from reaching journalists injured in their strikes,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg. “Journalists are civilians and protected under international law. Israel’s blatant disregard for such norms — and the international community’s failure to hold them accountable — is abhorrent.”

Under international law, attacks against civilians are prohibited, and all injured persons must be respected, protected from ill-treatment, and provided with medical care without discrimination. Willfully killing, torturing, or willfully causing great suffering, for example, by the deliberate denial of medical care to wounded civilians, is a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions, and constitutes a war crime.

Israel has previously prevented journalists from receiving medical care, resulting in their deaths. On December 15, 2023, Samer Abu Daqqa, camera operator for the Qatari-based broadcaster Al Jazeera Arabic was injured alongside veteran journalist and Gaza bureau chief  Wael al-Dahdouh while covering the aftermath of an Israeli strike on a U.N.-run school in Khan Yunis, Gaza. Al Jazeera documented that Israeli forces prevented rescue workers from reaching the crew, leaving Abu Daqqa to bleed to death for approximately five hours.

CPJ has documented a growing pattern of targeted Israeli attacks in Lebanon, where 15 journalists and media workers have been killed by Israel since October 7, 2023. Khalil’s killing took place amid a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon that took hold on April 16. 

“The culture of impunity Israel continues to enjoy in Gaza, where there has been no accountability for the targeted killing of journalists, is fuelling a similar pattern in Lebanon, with little regard for international law, civilian life, and press freedom,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “The international community must conduct an immediate investigation into this killing and use all mechanisms available to hold Israel to account.”

Al Akhbar is a daily Arabic language newspaper published in Beirut. It has been reported by numerous sources as being “pro-Hezbollah.” CPJ has documented at least nine other staff members for “pro-Hezbollah” media outlets, including Al-Mayadeen and Manar TV, that have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon since October 7, 2023: Ali Shoaib, Fatima Ftouni, Suzan Khalil, Mohamed Sherri, Wissam Kassem, Ghassan Najjar, Mohammed Reda, Farah Omar, and Rabih Al Maamari.

Under international humanitarian law, journalists, as civilians, are protected from direct and indiscriminate attack, regardless of the positions or affiliation of their media outlets, provided they do not directly participate in hostilities.

There is no evidence that Khalil or Faraj were directly participating in hostilities. Reporting, documenting destruction, or expressing views — even sharply critical ones — does not strip journalists of their civilian protection.

Khalil received numerous threats prior to her killing, including a reported death threat in September 2024, and public incitement against her by an Israeli military official days before her killing, leading to widespread accusations that she was deliberately targeted. The reported obstruction of rescue operations, claimed by Lebanese government officials, constitute an additional grave violation of international humanitarian law.