Photojournalist trapped under rubble after strike kills colleague in Lebanon

Zeinab Faraj was pinned under debris in southern Lebanon in April after a missile struck her car, an attack that killed her colleague Amal Khalil. The 21-year-old photojournalist was trapped for an unknown amount of time before paramedics pulled her from the wreckage, leaving her with injuries to her hand, face, and mobility.

The incident occurred on 22 April, shortly after Israel agreed to a ceasefire with Lebanon following a month of heavy airstrikes. Faraj and Khalil, a 42-year-old newspaper reporter, had collaborated on several assignments after Khalil contacted Faraj via social media. They traveled south to document the damage, joined by two men from a nearby hospital: Ali Nabil Bazzi, a 27-year-old municipal official, and Mohammed Hourani, 37, a friend of the mayor.

As the group approached the village of al-Tiri, Faraj heard Khalil scream and saw their car ahead engulfed in flames. The initial strike killed Bazzi and Hourani. Drones then flew low over the scene, one hovering close to Faraj’s face. Emergency services told the women to drive back up the road because ambulances were blocked, but a missile hit their vehicle as they attempted to re-enter it.

Both women were thrown backward, with Khalil shielding Faraj with her arms. They took shelter in a nearby house where Khalil was injured in the face, hand, and leg. Faraj sent a final text to her sister reading, 'There’s no hope left. Forgive me,' before her phone died. A second missile struck while they were sheltering, trapping Faraj under rubble.

A paramedic reached the site and held Faraj by the shoulders as a second medic cleared the debris. Drones returned during the extraction, dropping a stun grenade nearby. Faraj woke in an ambulance, mistaking the engine sound for a drone. At the hospital, nurses initially offered reassurances about Khalil’s condition before falling silent. Khalil is believed to have died approximately one hour before paramedics were allowed to return to the area.

The Israeli military stated it had identified saboteurs violating the ceasefire. Human rights groups labeled the attack a war crime, noting that the military received repeated requests to allow a rescue while the women were sheltering. A week prior to the strike, an Israeli military spokesperson had shared a video of Khalil labeled as 'terrorist media,' and she had received death threats from Israeli numbers.

Faraj is now preparing to return to university after finishing her degree in radio and TV. She still struggles to walk properly and has a visibly injured hand. A facial injury affects the movement of one of her eyebrows, and she wakes at night screaming. She remains uncertain about returning to frontline journalism and says she is haunted by the image of Hourani’s eyes open on the ground.