One year after Issam Abdallah’s killing by Israeli forces, sister Abeer demands accountability to end impunity

Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
16 October 2024



Children light candles during a vigil in memory of Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah and in support of Palestinians in Gaza, at a beach in Beirut, Lebanon, 22 October 2023. JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images

"I don't feel at all that we are getting half of the justice that Issam deserves," says the slain journalist’s sister in an interview with RSF.

This statement was originally published on rsf.org on 11 October 2024.

One year after Issam Abdallah was killed by the Israeli army while covering the conflict in southern Lebanon, justice still has not been served. Six independent investigations, including one by RSF, confirm that the journalist was killed by targeted fire from the Israeli army. Abeer Abdallah, the journalist’s sister, speaks out for the first time.


“It’s been a year since Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah was targeted and killed by Israeli forces while he was working, on 13 October 2023. The six investigations into this crime, including one by RSF, leave no room for doubt, and there is no reason why justice should not take its course. Justice must be done for Issam. On behalf of his family and his fellow journalists. For all the journalists killed since 7 October in Gaza and Lebanon. Combating impunity for crimes against journalists is an essential condition for the protection of journalism and the right to information”.

Jonathan Dagher, Head of RSF’s Middle East Desk