One drone pass killed a reporter and left another trapped under rubble

A 21-year-old photojournalist woke up trapped under rubble after a missile struck the car she was entering, leaving her colleague dead in the chaos.

The incident occurred on April 22, shortly after Israel agreed to a ceasefire with Lebanon. The truce ended a month of deadly airstrikes that concentrated on the southern region. Many residents used the break to return to their homes or assess the damage. Zeinab Faraj, who was freelancing while finishing a degree in radio and TV, traveled south with Amal Khalil, a 42-year-old newspaper reporter. The two had begun collaborating after Khalil saw Faraj's work on social media.

Faraj described the initial journey as routine. She heard gunfire and artillery but expected to capture the sounds for her footage. The group also included Ali Nabil Bazzi, a 27-year-old municipal official, and Mohammed Hourani, a 37-year-old friend of the mayor. The four had met at Tebnine governmental hospital, a gathering point considered relatively safe. Bazzi was scheduled to sign a marriage contract that evening but chose to join the trip. As they approached the village of al-Tiri, Faraj heard Khalil scream. She then saw the car ahead of them engulfed in flames.

Faraj exited the vehicle and attempted to pull Bazzi from the wreckage. Khalil insisted the men were gone, and Faraj later confirmed she saw their bodies torn apart. Drones then arrived, flying low and close to the women. Faraj recalled one drone coming so near her face that she tried to cover it. It rose whenever she did. The women called emergency services, which promised help was on the way. Faraj said those assurances acted like an anaesthetic. A paramedic instructed them to drive back up the road because ambulances were blocked. A missile struck their car as they tried to get in.

Both women were thrown backward. Khalil wrapped her arms around Faraj and said she hoped the drone would think they were dead. They took shelter in a nearby house. Khalil, who was bleeding from her face, hand, and leg, could not move. Faraj sent a final message to her sister before her phone battery died: There's no hope left. Forgive me. A drone dropped sharply toward her, causing her heart to stop momentarily. A missile then fell with a sound she had never heard before.

Faraj woke up unable to breathe. A paramedic held her by the shoulders as she begged him not to leave. A second paramedic cleared the debris. They pulled her out while she screamed in pain. Faraj said a stun grenade was dropped by a drone during the extraction. In the ambulance, she mistook the engine noise for a drone. At the hospital, nurses initially reassured her about Khalil's condition before going quiet. Khalil is believed to have died about an hour before paramedics were allowed back to the area.

The Israeli military stated it had identified saboteurs violating the ceasefire. Human rights groups labeled the attack a war crime. They noted that the military received repeated messages asking it to allow a rescue while the women sheltered. A week before the strike, an Israeli military spokesperson shared a video of Khalil and labeled it terrorist media. Khalil had also received death threats from Israeli numbers. Faraj is preparing to return to university. She still struggles to walk properly and has a visibly injured hand. A facial injury affects the movement of one eyebrow. She wakes at night screaming. Whether she will return to frontline journalism remains uncertain. She says she is haunted by the sight of Hourani on the ground, his eyes open and looking at her.