BASSEM MROUE
Thu, December 7, 2023
Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah died in an apparent strike across the Israel-Lebanon border
BEIRUT (AP) — Two Israeli strikes that killed a Reuters videographer and wounded six other journalists in south Lebanon nearly two months ago were apparently deliberate and a direct attack on civilians, two international human rights groups said Thursday.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said that the strikes should be investigated as a war crime. Their findings were released simultaneously with similar investigations by Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
Israeli officials have said that they don't deliberately target journalists.
The investigations by the rights groups found that two strikes 37 seconds apart targeted the group of journalists near the village of Alma al-Shaab on Oct. 13.
The strikes killed Issam Abdallah and wounded Reuters journalists Thaer Al-Sudani and Maher Nazeh, Qatar’s Al-Jazeera television cameraman Elie Brakhya and reporter Carmen Joukhadar, and AFP’s photographer Christina Assi, and video journalist Dylan Collins.
The seven journalists, all wearing flak jackets and helmets, were among many who deployed in southern Lebanon to cover the daily exchange of fire between members of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group and Israeli troops. The violence began a day after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on southern Israel that triggered the latest Israel-Hamas war.
Amnesty International said that it had verified more than 100 videos and photographs, analyzed weapons fragments from the site, and interviewed nine witnesses. It found that the group “was visibly identifiable as journalists and that the Israeli military knew or should have known that they were civilians yet attacked them.”
London-based Amnesty said that it determined that the first strike, which killed Abdallah and severely wounded Assi, “was a 120mm tank round fired from the hills between al-Nawaqir and Jordeikh in Israel," while the second strike appeared to be a different weapon, likely a small guided missile, causing a vehicle used by the Al Jazeera crew to go up in flames.
Amnesty said that the tank round, most likely an M339 projectile, was manufactured by the Israeli IMI Systems and had been identified in other Amnesty International investigations of attacks by the Israeli military.
HRW said that it had interviewed seven witnesses, including three of the wounded journalists and a representative of the U.N. peacekeeping force in south Lebanon. The New York-based rights group also said it analyzed 49 videos and dozens of photos, in addition to satellite images, and consulted military, video, and audio experts. HRW said it sent letters with findings and questions to the Lebanese and Israeli armed forces, respectively, but didn't receive a response from them.
Ramzi Kaiss, a Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch, said that the group has documented other cases involving Israeli forces.
“Those responsible need to be held to account, and it needs to be made clear that journalists and other civilians are not lawful targets," he said.
Aya Majzoub, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director, condemned the "attack on a group of international journalists who were carrying out their work by reporting on hostilities.”
“Direct attacks on civilians and indiscriminate attacks are absolutely prohibited by international humanitarian law and can amount to war crimes,” she said.
Collins, the American AFP video journalist from Boston, said that the journalists had been at the scene for more than an hour before the strikes and felt “secure.”
He said they were “on an exposed hill, visible to multiple Israeli positions, and they had drones in the air the entire time,” adding that there were "no military activities near us.”
“Our job is to tell the story, not to become the story,” Collins said.
Abdallah’s mother, Fatima, told The Associated Press that the family was sure from the first day that Israel was behind the attack. Now that there is evidence, she said, she hopes “they (Israel) will be held accountable.”
“This move is not only for Issam but for journalists to be protected in the future,” Abdallah said.
Israel accused of killing journalist in direct strike on southern Lebanon
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said that the strikes should be investigated as a war crime. Their findings were released simultaneously with similar investigations by Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
Israeli officials have said that they don't deliberately target journalists.
The investigations by the rights groups found that two strikes 37 seconds apart targeted the group of journalists near the village of Alma al-Shaab on Oct. 13.
The strikes killed Issam Abdallah and wounded Reuters journalists Thaer Al-Sudani and Maher Nazeh, Qatar’s Al-Jazeera television cameraman Elie Brakhya and reporter Carmen Joukhadar, and AFP’s photographer Christina Assi, and video journalist Dylan Collins.
The seven journalists, all wearing flak jackets and helmets, were among many who deployed in southern Lebanon to cover the daily exchange of fire between members of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group and Israeli troops. The violence began a day after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on southern Israel that triggered the latest Israel-Hamas war.
Amnesty International said that it had verified more than 100 videos and photographs, analyzed weapons fragments from the site, and interviewed nine witnesses. It found that the group “was visibly identifiable as journalists and that the Israeli military knew or should have known that they were civilians yet attacked them.”
London-based Amnesty said that it determined that the first strike, which killed Abdallah and severely wounded Assi, “was a 120mm tank round fired from the hills between al-Nawaqir and Jordeikh in Israel," while the second strike appeared to be a different weapon, likely a small guided missile, causing a vehicle used by the Al Jazeera crew to go up in flames.
Amnesty said that the tank round, most likely an M339 projectile, was manufactured by the Israeli IMI Systems and had been identified in other Amnesty International investigations of attacks by the Israeli military.
HRW said that it had interviewed seven witnesses, including three of the wounded journalists and a representative of the U.N. peacekeeping force in south Lebanon. The New York-based rights group also said it analyzed 49 videos and dozens of photos, in addition to satellite images, and consulted military, video, and audio experts. HRW said it sent letters with findings and questions to the Lebanese and Israeli armed forces, respectively, but didn't receive a response from them.
Ramzi Kaiss, a Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch, said that the group has documented other cases involving Israeli forces.
“Those responsible need to be held to account, and it needs to be made clear that journalists and other civilians are not lawful targets," he said.
Aya Majzoub, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director, condemned the "attack on a group of international journalists who were carrying out their work by reporting on hostilities.”
“Direct attacks on civilians and indiscriminate attacks are absolutely prohibited by international humanitarian law and can amount to war crimes,” she said.
Collins, the American AFP video journalist from Boston, said that the journalists had been at the scene for more than an hour before the strikes and felt “secure.”
He said they were “on an exposed hill, visible to multiple Israeli positions, and they had drones in the air the entire time,” adding that there were "no military activities near us.”
“Our job is to tell the story, not to become the story,” Collins said.
Abdallah’s mother, Fatima, told The Associated Press that the family was sure from the first day that Israel was behind the attack. Now that there is evidence, she said, she hopes “they (Israel) will be held accountable.”
“This move is not only for Issam but for journalists to be protected in the future,” Abdallah said.
Israel accused of killing journalist in direct strike on southern Lebanon
Tom Watling
Thu, December 7, 2023
Reuters photographer Issam Abdallah was killed on 13 October (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Israel has been accused of killing a journalist and injuring six others in a direct strike in southern Lebanon, in what Amnesty and Human Right Watch have said should be investigated as a possible war crime.
On 13 October, Reuters photographer Issam Abdallah was killed while stationed roughly one kilometre from the northern Israeli border with Lebanon. He was filming skirmishes between the Israeli military and Hezbollah, who are allied with Hamas that Israel are fighting a war against in Gaza.
A Reuters investigation published on Thursday said an Israeli tank crew killed Mr Abdallah and wounded the six other journalists by firing two shells in quick succession from Israel while the group were filming cross-border shelling from a distance.
“The evidence we now have... shows that an Israeli tank crew killed our colleague Issam Abdallah,” the Reuters editor-in-chief, Alessandra Galloni, said.
“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.”
An Israeli government spokesperson denied Israeli forces targeted non-combatants. "We do not target civilians," spokesperson Eylon Levy said in a televised briefing, when asked about the reports from Reuters, Amnesty International and HRW. "We've been doing everything possible to get civilians out of harm's way."
Dozens of journalists have been killed, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, since a deadly Hamas attack on Israeli soil on 7 October sparked a a war between Israel and the militant group in Gaza, with exchanges of fire across the border with Lebanon too.
Mr Abdallah and his six compatriots were all wearing vest marked “press” and driving cars with the word “TV” written on the roof and the hood.
Al Jazeera videographer Elie Brakhya, who was there during the strike, told Amnesty International they chose an “extremely exposed” filming position on top of a hill to signal they were journalists.
For 40 minutes prior to the strike, an Israeli Apache helicopter and a suspected Israeli drone hovered above them for more than 40 minutes. There were also observation towers nearby, the Amnesty International report said.
“All of this should have provided sufficient information to Israeli forces that these were journalists and civilians and not a military target,” the report said.
They added that the nearest fighting between the Israeli military and Hezbollah was roughly 1.5km away.
But at around 6pm local time, an Israeli tank fired a 120mm round from the hills to their east at their position, killing Mr Abdallah and wounding Ms Assi, Amnesty International said. A second round fired 37 seconds later destroyed an Al Jazeera vehicle, the group added.
Four other journalists received shrapnel wounds and a fifth suffered severe injuries in both his arms.
Human Rights Watch (HRW), in a separate report, said the strike was “likely a direct attack on civilians”.
After the strike, Israel’s United Nations envoy Gilad Erdan said in a briefing: “Obviously, we would never want to hit or kill or shoot any journalist… But you know, we’re in a state of war, things might happen.” The next day, the Israeli military said that “the incident is under review”.
Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hecht, the Israeli military’s international spokesman, told Reuters on Thursday: "We don't target journalists."
Issam Abdallah: Rights groups want Israel investigated over killed journalist
Barbara Tasch - BBC News
Thu, December 7, 2023
Rights groups say Israel should be investigated for a possible war crime over the death of a journalist in Lebanon in October.
Reuters reporter Issam Abdallah, 37, died in two apparent strikes across the Israel-Lebanon border in October. Six others were wounded.
Amnesty and Human Rights Watch (HRW) said investigations showed the journalists were probably fired on deliberately by an Israeli tank crew.
Israel denies targeting the reporters.
"We do not target civilians," Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy said when asked about the reports from Amnesty and HRW.
"We've been doing everything possible to get civilians out of harm's way," Eylon added in a televised briefing.
The group of seven journalists from Reuters, Al-Jazeera and AFP, were filming about 1km from the Lebanon-Israel border on 13 October.
Amnesty said images showed the journalists were wearing body armour marked with the word "PRESS", and the Reuters crew car was marked "TV" with yellow tape on its hood.
They were on a hilltop in an open area with no tree cover or other buildings to obscure them from nearby Israeli military outposts, Reuters said. Drones had been overhead and an Israeli helicopter had been patrolling, it said.
Abdallah was killed instantly in the strike. Two more Reuters journalists, two from AFP and two from Al Jazeera were all wounded. AFP photographer Christina Assi, 28, later had a leg amputated and is still in hospital.
AFP's Christina Assi had a leg amputated after the strike
Amnesty's deputy regional director Aya Majzoub said the organisation's investigation indicated it was "likely a direct attack on civilians" and should be "investigated as a war crime".
"Those responsible for Issam Abdallah's unlawful killing and the injuring of six other journalists must be held accountable," Majzoub added.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the strikes "were apparently deliberate attacks on civilians, which is a war crime".
The group said its investigation showed the journalists were "well removed from ongoing hostilities, clearly identifiable as members of the media, and had been stationary for at least 75 minutes before they were hit".
Separately, Israel Defense Force (IDF) spokesperson Richard Hecht said the military did not target journalists when Reuters presented him with its own findings on the incident. The Israeli prime minister's office did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
AFP's global news director also said the agency had shared its latest findings with the Israeli military but had not received a response.
Sixty-three journalists have been killed since the start of the war, according to the Committee to Protect journalists.
Israel, on Reuters finding its forces killed Lebanon journalist, says area a combat zone
Reuters
Updated Fri, December 8, 2023
Israel, on Reuters finding its forces killed Lebanon journalist, says area a combat zone
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The Israeli military, responding on Friday to a Reuters investigation that determined its forces killed a Reuters journalist in southern Lebanon on Oct. 13, said the incident took place in an active combat zone and was under review.
Without directly addressing the death of visuals journalist Issam Abdallah, a military statement said Lebanese Hezbollah fighters had on that day attacked across the border and Israeli forces opened fire to prevent a suspected armed infiltration.
A Reuters special report published on Thursday found that an Israeli tank crew killed Abdallah and wounded six reporters by firing two shells in quick succession from Israel while the journalists were filming cross-border shelling.
Israel's statement on Friday said that on Oct. 13, Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants launched an attack on multiple targets within Israeli territory along the Lebanese border.
"One incident involved the firing of an anti-tank missile, which struck the border fence near the village Hanita. Following the launch of the anti-tank missile, concerns arose over the potential infiltration of terrorists into Israeli territory," the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said in a statement.
"In response, the IDF used artillery and tank fire to prevent the infiltration. The IDF is aware of the claim that journalists who were in the area were killed.
"The area is an active combat zone, where active fire takes place and being in this area is dangerous. The incident is currently under review," it said.
The strikes killed Abdallah, 37, and severely wounded Agence France-Presse (AFP) photographer Christina Assi, 28, just over a kilometre from the Israeli border near the Lebanese village of Alma al-Chaab.
Amnesty International said on Thursday that the Israeli strikes were likely to have been a direct attack on civilians and must be investigated as a war crime.
In a separate report Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the two Israeli strikes were "an apparently deliberate attack on civilians and thus a war crime" and said those responsible must be held to account.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday it was important that Israel's inquiry into the killing reach a conclusion and for the results to be seen.
"My understanding is that Israel has initiated such an investigation, and it will be important to see that investigation come to a conclusion, and to see the results of the investigation," Blinken said at a press conference.
(This story has been refiled to use more precise language to make clearer that military statement refers to combat on Oct. 13, not at a specific hour of day, in paragraph 2)
(Writing by Dan Williams and Howard Goller; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Mark Bendeich)
Reuters Investigation Concludes Israeli Tank Fire Killed Lebanese Staffer & Calls On Israel For Explanation
Melanie Goodfellow
Thu, December 7, 2023
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.
Israeli Film & TV Producers Seek To Get Cameras Rolling Again When Fighting Stops
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.
Deadline
Thu, December 7, 2023
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.
Israeli Film & TV Producers Seek To Get Cameras Rolling Again When Fighting Stops
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.
Deadline
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