Photojournalist survives drone attack in Lebanon that killed colleague

Zeinab Faraj, a 21-year-old photojournalist, is recovering from injuries sustained in a multi-vehicle strike in southern Lebanon on April 22. The attack killed her colleague, 42-year-old reporter Amal Khalil, and two other men. Faraj survived after being trapped under rubble for several hours while drones circled overhead.

Faraj and Khalil were documenting the aftermath of a recent ceasefire. They had left the city of Bint Jbeil to visit the village of al-Tiri. A car carrying Ali Nabil Bazzi, a 27-year-old municipal official, and Mohammed Hourani, a 37-year-old friend of the mayor, was traveling ahead of them. Bazzi was scheduled to sign a marriage contract that evening but chose to join the trip. The group had met earlier at Tebnine governmental hospital.

Faraj did not hear the initial missile impact. She heard Khalil scream and saw the car ahead catch fire. Faraj attempted to pull Bazzi from the vehicle, but Khalil insisted the men were gone. Faraj saw the bodies of Bazzi and Hourani. Drones then flew low over the scene. Faraj described one drone coming close enough that she covered her face, with the aircraft rising whenever she did so.

Emergency services told the women to drive away because ambulances were blocked. Their car was struck by a missile as they attempted to enter it. Both women were thrown backward. Khalil wrapped her arms around Faraj. They took shelter in a nearby house. Khalil was bleeding from her face, hand, and leg. Faraj sent a message to her sister saying, "There's no hope left. Forgive me," before her phone died.

Faraj woke up trapped under rubble. A paramedic held her by the shoulders. A second paramedic cleared the debris. They pulled her out while drones returned to the area. Faraj reported that a stun grenade was dropped near them during the rescue. In the ambulance, she mistook the engine noise for a drone. At the hospital, nurses confirmed that Khalil had likely died about an hour before paramedics were allowed back into the zone.

The Israeli military stated it identified saboteurs violating the ceasefire. Human rights groups labeled the attack a war crime. They noted that the military received repeated requests to allow a rescue while the women sheltered in the building. A week prior, an Israeli military spokesperson had shared a video of Khalil and labeled it "terrorist media." Khalil had also received death threats from Israeli phone numbers.

Faraj is preparing to return to her university studies in radio and television. She still has trouble walking and has an injured hand. A facial injury has affected the movement of one eyebrow. She wakes at night screaming. Drones and warplanes still put her on edge. She is uncertain about returning to frontline journalism. She remains haunted by the image of Hourani on the ground, with his eyes open, looking at her.