On April 22, 2026, around 14:30 and despites the "ceasefire", the Israeli a drone attacked a civilian car in the town of Al-Tiri that was accompanying the car of the two Al-Akhbar journalists, causing 2 deaths. They were in a delegate vehicle when a drone strike hit a vehicle behind them. So, the two journalists Amal Khalil and Zainab Faraj took refuge near a tree.

Immediately after the raid, contacts began with the ambulance teams and army intelligence, and the matter was entrusted to the Red Cross, which was waiting for permission from the "mechanism" to move at that time.

At 16:00, the drone struck again near the two colleagues, specifically targeting their car. At that point, Amal contacted a colleague and informed him of what had happened.

Both journalists were trapped at the scene finding a shelter in a close house. Amal contacted the Red Cross before her phone died. Her last message confirmed she was still safe.

Then, an Israeli airstrike cut off the road between the southern Lebanese towns of Haddatha and Al-Tiri, blocking access for ambulance teams trying to reach the two journalists. They are just 500 meters away.

At 16:27, after rumors circulated that Israel was refusing access to the location and had also instructed UNIFIL forces not to use the Haddatha-Bint Jbeil road, Israeli warplanes launched an attack towards the town of Al-Tayri. At this point, every observer suspected it was a bombing rather than an airstrike, but it later became clear that the target was the house where the two women had taken refuge.

Around 17:00, the Red Cross was heading to evacuate journalist Amal Khalil from the southern town of Tayri, along with the two who were killed in the airstrike, after approval by the Israeli army

Just ten minutes after the raid, permission was given for the Red Cross vehicles to move. Rescue workers were finally able to rescue Zainab Faraj and evacuate the bodies of the two other victims, but while attempting to evacuate Amal Al Khalil, the IDF bombed the site again, as well as the house where she had taken refuge. However, Faraj, who sustained injuries, had been rescued. Lebanon's National News Agency said that the Red Cross vehicle transporting Faraj from al-Tiri to the Tebnin Governmental Hospital came under Israeli fire, with visible bullet marks on the vehicle.

Around 19:00, reports confirm that Red Cross was hit by a stun grenade, forcing it to withdraw from the town, and is expected to return later to continue searching for Khalil, according to LBCI.

The rescue workers then evacuated the area, and, incredibly, Lebanese President Aoun reportedly had to request Israel’s approval in order to attempt another evacuation of journalist Amal Khalil, who stays trapped under the rubble.

Around 22:00, Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon reported that search operations have begun in al-Tiri at the house targeted by Israeliforces, where journalist Amal Khalil was present at the time of the second Israeli attack.

Lebanon’s health ministry caimed Israeli forces “pursued” journalists Zeinab Faraj and Amal Khalil by striking the house where they had taken shelter after an initial attack on the town of at-Tiri.

Meanwhile, RSF calls "on the international community to immediately pressure the Israeli army into allowing the rescue of Al Akhbar journalist Amal Khalil, currently trapped near Tiri in southern Lebanon following an Israeli airstrike close to her vehicle. Her life is in danger right now! Continued Israeli airstrikes are preventing rescuers from reaching her."

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) stated it was “outraged” that the Israeli army had “apparently targeted Lebanese journalists Amal Khalil and Zeinab Faraj” in Tiri, southern Lebanon, on Wednesday, warning that “continued obstruction of rescue operations by Israel could constitute a war crime.” The CPJ added that journalist Amal Khalil had received a death threat in September 2024 attributed to the Israeli army, “raising serious concerns about a possible deliberate targeting.”

According to Ali Rida Sbeity (@AliRida_SB) Field Journalist & Visual Storyteller for RT: "It should be noted that our colleague Amal Khalil had previously received threats from the Israeli enemy, and therefore the Union holds the enemy fully responsible for her life, and considers what is happening a heinous crime."

Around 23:15 Beirut Time: as it was returning from the border Christian village of Ain Ibl, the convoy of apostolic nuncio Paolo Borgia stopped at the site of the Israeli strike in Tiri. The convoy joining UNIFIL, as well as the Lebanese Army and teams from the Red Cross on the site, according to the National News Agency (NNA).

Around 23:34, the Civil Defense confirmed it had recovered the body of the journalist Amal Khalil under the rubble. The General Directorate of Civil Defense announced in a statement that its teams “succeeded in recovering the body of journalist Amal Khalil, who was martyred as a result of an enemy strike that targeted a house in the town of Tiri.” It specifies that “search and rescue operations were carried out in the presence of the Lebanese army and the Lebanese Red Cross, and that the necessary procedures were applied in accordance with the protocols in force.”

Israeli Army spin:

The Israeli army stated it had "identified two vehicles in southern Lebanon that had departed from a military structure used by Hezbollah". "After identifying the individuals as violating the ceasefire understandings and posing an imminent threat, the Israeli Air Force struck one of the vehicles. Subsequently, the structure from which the individuals had fled was also struck," "Reports were received that two journalists were injured as a result of the strikes. The IDF is not preventing rescue teams from reaching the area."