Reuters Investigation Concludes Israeli Tank Fire Killed Lebanese Staffer & Calls On Israel For Explanation
A seven-week investigation by Reuters news agency into the death of staff member Issam Abdallah on Lebanon’s southern border with Israel on October 13 has concluded he was killed by Israeli tank fire.
The report, which was released on Thursday, said its examination of the evidence showed that an Israeli tank crew killed Abdallah by firing two shells in quick succession.
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Abdallah, who was an experienced Reuters videographer, had travelled to the border with other international TV and agency journalists to cover exchanges of fire between Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and the Israeli army.
The incident, close to the Lebanese village of Alma al-Chaab, happened amid mounting tensions in the area in the wake of Hamas’s terror attack on southern Israel on October 7 and fears that the country faced a similar threat out of Lebanon in the north.
The two strikes also injured another six journalists, two with Reuters, two with Al Jazeera and two with AFP. AFP photographer Christina Assi sustained life-changing injuries. Her left leg was amputated and she remains in hospital.
In a separate report by AFP, which was also released on Thursday, the Paris-based agency said its investigation pointed to a tank round only used by the Israeli army. It said it had conducted the investigation with UK-based NGO Airwars, a UK-based organisation with a a team of investigators and a network of forensic and military experts.
Reuters said it had spoken to more than 30 government and security officials, military experts, forensic investigators, lawyers, medics and witnesses to piece together the events around Abdallah’s death.
It also reviewed hours of video footage from eight media outlets in the area at the time and hundreds of photos from before and after the attack, including high-resolution satellite images.
The investigation also analyzed shrapnel on the ground and embedded in a Reuters car as well as flak jackets, a camera and other equipment.
“The evidence we now have, and have published today, shows that an Israeli tank crew killed our colleague Issam Abdallah,” commented Reuters Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galloni.
“We condemn Issam’s killing. We call on Israel to explain how this could have happened and to hold to account those responsible for his death and the wounding of Christina Assi of the AFP, our colleagues Thaier Al-Sudani and Maher Nazeh, and the three other journalists. Issam was a brilliant and passionate journalist, who was much loved at Reuters.”
The AFP report also examined suggestions that the journalists had been deliberately targeted.
The agency did not state its own conclusion on this but cited a number of witnesses and experts who suggested that it was clear that party was made up of journalists and that it was unlikely they had been mistaken for militants.
The AFP report also noted that the fact there were two rounds of artillery, fired one after the other, suggested it was not a misfire.
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