Photojournalist Zeinab Faraj survived an April 22 attack in southern Lebanon that killed reporter Amal Khalil and two others, enduring missile strikes, low-flying drones, and being trapped under rubble before emergency responders pulled her to safety.
The journey to the southern village of al-Tiri began on the afternoon of April 22, following a mid-April ceasefire that ended a month of deadly airstrikes across Lebanon. Zeinab Faraj, a 21-year-old freelance photojournalist finishing her radio and television degree, joined 42-year-old newspaper reporter Amal Khalil to document the aftermath of the war in southern Lebanon, where entire villages had been flattened by bombing. The two had previously collaborated on multiple assignments after Khalil discovered Faraj’s work on social media and reached out to her.
As they travelled, Faraj looked out the window and reminisced about the region where she was born and raised, the nearby city of Bint Jbeil. My whole life revolved around this area. As we say, a fish suffocates when it’s taken out of water. That’s how we feel whenever we leave Bint Jbeil,
Faraj recalled, according to reporting detailing the incident.
Attacked in al-Tiri
Ahead of the journalists’ vehicle drove a car carrying Ali Nabil Bazzi, a 27-year-old municipal official from Bint Jbeil, and Mohammed Hourani, a 37-year-old friend of the mayor.
Faraj heard Khalil screaming and watched as the lead vehicle burst into flames. Both women exited their car to assess the damage.
Drones Target Survivors
Drones soon materialized overhead, flying low and close to the ground.
When the drones came, my heart started pounding in a terrifying way. The drone started coming very close to my face. I tried to cover my face, but whenever I did, it would fly back up. That was when I really felt the real danger.
Zeinab Faraj, photojournalist
As Khalil and Faraj made frantic calls to emergency services, dispatchers repeatedly assured them that help was inbound. Faraj described those assurances as like an anaesthetic,
a temporary numbness masking the grim reality that no rescuers were arriving. A paramedic on one of the calls instructed them to re-enter their car and attempt to drive back up the road because ambulances were being blocked from reaching their exact location. But as they moved toward the vehicle, a missile struck it.
Khalil was left immobile by the blast, prompting Faraj to crawl to a vantage point overlooking the road. A drone suddenly descended toward her from high altitude. It had been high up and suddenly it came down. The way it descended was terrifying. My heart stopped,
Faraj said. Shortly afterward, a massive missile detonation shook the area, accompanied by screaming from Khalil. Faraj lost consciousness.
When she awoke, complete darkness surrounded her, and an immense weight crushed her body. Trapped beneath rubble, she struggled simply to breathe. A paramedic eventually reached her, holding her shoulders while a second rescuer cleared the debris. As drones circled overhead again, the paramedics pulled Faraj free while she screamed in pain. During the ambulance evacuation, a stun grenade dropped nearby, and Faraj repeatedly panicked, mistaking the sound of the moving ambulance for an incoming drone.
Faraj Suffers Lasting Psychological Trauma After the Attack
Upon arriving at the hospital, Faraj asked nurses about Khalil’s condition. After initial evasive reassurances, the medical staff fell silent.
Months later, Faraj continues to deal with the psychological toll of the attack. Night terrors wake her with screams, and the sounds of aircraft leave her constantly on edge, while the image of Mohammed Hourani’s open eyes looking at her from the ground remains permanently etched in her memory.