CPJ calls for immediate rescue of Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil, trapped under rubble in southern Lebanon

Beirut, April 22, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) apparently targeted Lebanese journalists Amal Khalil and Zeinab Faraj in Al Tayri, southern Lebanon, on Wednesday, and warns that the continued Israeli obstruction of rescue efforts may amount to a war crime. CPJ is further alarmed by reports that Khalil received a direct death threat attributed to the IDF in September 2024, raising serious concerns of deliberate targeting. 

Khalil, a reporter for the newspaper Al-Akhbar, and Faraj, a freelance photojournalist, were both on assignment, reporting on recent attacks on the southern village of Bint Jbeil. En route, they became trapped under rubble after a direct strike hit the building they were sheltering in, according to Al-Jadeed TV, just after a strike on a nearby civilian vehicle on the main road in Al Tayri. The destruction and direct fire at ambulances have prevented rescue operations from reaching the site.

Khalil was last heard from at approximately 4:10 p.m., according to news reports and colleagues CPJ spoke to, when she called her family and the Lebanese military. 

The Red Cross was granted limited access to the site, which remains under active fire, but was able to evacuate Faraj, who reportedly sustained critical head injuries, and two other civilian who were killed, before being forced to withdraw due to continued shelling and the direct firing on rescue crews and vehicles, according to news reports.

The Red Cross is now awaiting Israeli authorization to re-enter the site and search for Khalil, who is believed to still be trapped under the rubble, according to several news reports. There is no further information on her condition.

In an interview on Al Jadeed TV, the head of the Union of Journalists in Lebanon, Elsy Moufarrej, accused Israeli forces of deliberately targeting Khalil, considering the texted September 2024 death threat against the trapped journalist. Moufarrej called on the Lebanese government and international bodies to take urgent action against what she called “uninvestigated and repeated Israeli war crimes against journalists.”

“The repeated strikes on the same location, the targeting of an area where journalists were sheltering, and the obstruction of medical and humanitarian access constitute a grave breach of international humanitarian law,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “CPJ holds Israeli forces responsible for the endangerment of Amal Khalil’s life and the injuries Zeinab Faraj sustained after the targeted strike on their location.”

CPJ demands that Israeli forces immediately cease fire in the area and grant full, unconditional humanitarian access to allow the Red Cross to resume search and rescue operations without delay or interference, and to ensure the immediate, safe evacuation of Khalil and protection for all journalists on the ground.

CPJ calls on the United Nations, including the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), to intervene urgently to secure access to and provide protection for Khalil.

CPJ emailed the IDF international press office for comment but did not receive an immediate reply.