Rights groups say Israeli attack that killed Lebanese journalist an apparent war crime

Two human rights groups have said an Israeli attack in southern Lebanon that killed al-Akhbar newspaper reporter Amal Khalil and seriously wounded freelance camera operator Zeinab Faraj was an apparent war crime.Separate reports by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International concluded that the journalists were targeted while reporting in the town of al-Tiri on 22 April.They called for an independent investigation and for Lebanon to accept the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.The Israeli military denied targeting the journalists, telling the BBC that the three strikes carried out by its forces were aimed at two operatives of the armed group Hezbollah."The Israeli military says it does not target journalists, but the facts and evidence show that it has repeatedly done so. Amal Khalil and Zeinab Faraj are the latest victims in a long series of such attacks," said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW).The two rights groups said they had reviewed photo and video evidence of the events in al-Tiri, as well as witness testimony from Faraj and first responders, media reports, and a message from the Lebanese Red Cross to the Israeli military.According to HRW's reconstruction of the events, the first Israeli strike hit a car driving in front of the two female journalists at about 14:30 local time, killing two men they knew, Ali Bazzi and Mohammed al-Hourani.HRW said the strike forced Khalil and Faraj to abandon their vehicle and seek refuge near a neighbouring building. They called the Lebanese Red Cross for help, and at 15:00 the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (Unifil) sent the Israeli military a request from the Lebanese Red Cross to access the site and rescue them.