The findings, compiled by Lebanese legal organization Legal Agenda alongside international monitors Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, expose a calculated pattern of targeting civilians and weaponizing bureaucratic “deconfliction” mechanisms to prevent life-saving medical access.
The investigation centers on the events of April 22, 2026, in the village of al-Tiri, located in southern Lebanon’s Israeli-occupied “security zone.”
Khalil, a 42-year-old reporter for al-Akhbar newspaper, and 21-year-old freelance photojournalist Zeinab Faraj, were in the area to verify reports of Israeli troop movements.
According to the timeline established by the investigators, the Israeli military first struck a vehicle carrying two local municipal officials at 2:25 PM.
After the journalists called the Lebanese civil defense for help, rescue crews were forced to wait at a military checkpoint for hours, awaiting approval from the Israeli military’s so-called “deconfliction mechanism.”
While waiting, Israeli quadcopters circled dangerously low over the journalists, who were forced to abandon their vehicle and seek shelter in a nearby building.
At 3:40 PM, an Israeli strike hit their car, severely injuring both women. Despite their desperate calls for help, rescue crews were repeatedly denied entry.
At 4:25 PM, the Israeli military launched a third strike, bombing the very building where the injured journalists were sheltering, burying them under rubble.
MNA
