The Israeli military killed a Lebanese journalist earlier this year in what appears to be a war crime, investigations by leading human rights groups have found.

Three reports into the killing of journalist Issam Abdallah on 13 October were published on Thursday by Reuters, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International.

All three found that two Israeli missiles were fired at a group of journalists reporting from south Lebanon near the village of Alma El-Chaab. 

The strikes killed Reuters visuals journalist Issam Abdallah, 37, and wounded six other reporters working for Reuters, AFP and Al Jazeera.  

Amnesty International said the missiles were "likely a direct attack on civilians that must be investigated as a war crime". 

HRW said they were "apparently [a] deliberate attack on civilians and thus a war crime".

It added the Israeli military "knew or should have known" they were firing on civilians, based on evidence gathered from seven witness accounts, including three from the wounded journalists, 49 videos, dozens of photos, and satellite images verified by the NGO.