21-Year-Old Photographer Trapped Under Rubble After Strike

One paramedic held Zeinab Faraj by the shoulders as she lay trapped under rubble, begging him not to leave her. It was the moment she realized she had survived a strike that killed her colleague, Amal Khalil, and two other men. The incident occurred on 22 April, just two months after Israel agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon following a month of deadly airstrikes.

Faraj, a 21-year-old photojournalist, had planned the trip with Khalil, a 42-year-old newspaper reporter, to document the aftermath of the war in the south. The two women had collaborated on previous assignments after Khalil contacted Faraj through social media. They joined a car carrying Ali Nabil Bazzi, a 27-year-old municipal official, and Mohammed Hourani, 37, a friend of the mayor. The group had met earlier at Tebnine governmental hospital, a gathering point considered relatively safe. Faraj, who was freelancing while finishing a degree, said she expected the trip to be routine and felt no fear despite audible gunfire and artillery.

As the group neared the village of al-Tiri, Faraj heard a scream from Khalil and saw the car ahead engulfed in flames. The two women exited the vehicle. Faraj attempted to pull Bazzi from the wreckage, but Khalil insisted the men were gone. Drones then arrived, flying low and close to the ground. Faraj described one drone coming so near her face that she tried to cover it, only for it to rise again. They called emergency services, who promised help was coming. A paramedic instructed them to drive back up the road because ambulances were blocked, but their car was hit by a missile as they tried to enter it.

Both women were thrown backwards, with Khalil wrapping her arms around Faraj. They took shelter in a nearby house, where Khalil, injured in the face, hand, and leg, could not move. Faraj sent a final message to her sister before her phone battery died, writing, "There's no hope left. Forgive me." A second missile fell nearby, creating a sound Faraj said she had never heard before.

Faraj woke trapped under rubble, barely able to breathe. A second paramedic cleared the debris, and they pulled her out while drones returned. A stun grenade was dropped by a drone during the rescue. In the ambulance, Faraj mistook the vehicle's engine for a drone. At the hospital, nurses reassured her about Khalil 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 called the attack a war crime, noting that the military received repeated messages asking it to allow a rescue while the women sheltered. A week earlier, an Israeli military spokesperson had shared a video of Khalil published by her newspaper and labelled it "terrorist media." Khalil had also received death threats from Israeli numbers.

Faraj is preparing to return to university but still struggles to walk properly. She has a visibly injured hand, and a facial injury has affected the movement of one eyebrow. She wakes at night screaming and remains on edge when she hears drones or warplanes. She said she is haunted by the sight of Hourani on the ground, his eyes open and looking at her.