An Israeli attack in southern Lebanon in late April that killed one female journalist and seriously injured another may amount to a war crime, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).
The rights group said on Thursday it had found indications that civilians may have been deliberately targeted.
“The Israeli military says it does not target journalists, but the facts and evidence show that it has repeatedly done so. Amal Khalil and Zainab Faraj are the latest victims in a long series of such attacks,” Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at HRW, said.
Khalil was killed and Faraj seriously injured in the Israeli strike on April 22. After reviewing video footage, witness accounts and other evidence, HRW concluded that the Israeli military knew or should have known that the two women were civilians.
According to the HRW report, three attacks took place that day. A vehicle ahead of the journalists’ car was first struck, killing two people. The journalists’ vehicle was then hit, forcing them to seek shelter in a nearby building, which was attacked shortly afterwards, the report said.
HRW said the Israeli military also obstructed rescue efforts by forcing Lebanese Red Cross paramedics to withdraw after dropping a stun grenade from a drone. It also cited eyewitness accounts that an ambulance was damaged by gunfire.
The rights group said the Israeli military provided only a brief response to its inquiry into the incident and did not answer follow-up questions. It said the military told HRW a preliminary investigation had found the journalist was killed during “a sequence of events” in which two Hezbollah fighters were also killed and that the military was investigating the incident.
HRW called for an independent investigation and for accountability over any violations of international humanitarian law.
The Israeli military has also faced accusations over the killing of journalists during the war in Gaza. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has accused Israel, among other things, of a “long-standing, documented practice” of accusing journalists of being terrorists without providing credible evidence.