– by Maya Gebeily and Anthony Deutsch and David Clarke
Beirut/The Hague (Reuters) – According to research by the Reuters news agency, Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah died from an Israeli tank bullet in southern Lebanon on October 13.
An Israeli tank crew fired twice in quick succession, 37 seconds apart, according to research published on Thursday. To do this, Reuters spoke to more than 30 government representatives, security officials, military experts, forensic investigators, lawyers, doctors and witnesses. Many hours of video material from eight different media as well as hundreds of photos were evaluated, including high-resolution satellite images.
The attack killed 37-year-old video reporter Abdallah and six other journalists were injured, some seriously – two Reuters journalists, a photographer from the French news agency AFP and her video colleague, and two employees of the Al-Jazeera television station. All seven reporters wore blue body armor and helmets, and most had “PRESS” written on them in white letters. They came under fire just over a kilometer from the Israeli border, near the Lebanese village of Alma al-Shaab. Journalists from at least seven other media outlets were also working nearby. The reporters wanted to report on the armed clashes in the border area that occurred after the radical Islamic Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th.
The Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), an independent research institute that tests and analyzes ammunition and weapons for clients such as the Dutch Ministry of Defense, examined ammunition fragments in its laboratories in The Hague. Accordingly, a 120-millimeter tank cartridge was used, as used by the Israeli army.
“The evidence we now have and that we published today shows that an Israeli tank crew killed our colleague Issam Abdallah,” said Reuters editor-in-chief Alessandra Galloni. “We condemn Issam’s murder. We call on Israel to explain how this could have happened.” Those responsible should be held accountable. “Issam was a brilliant and passionate journalist who was very popular at Reuters,” Galloni added.
AFP said evidence compiled by Reuters confirmed its own investigation. The attack on a group of journalists who could be clearly identified as members of the media was “inexplicable” and “unacceptable,” said AFP information director Phil Chetwynd.
Reuters presented the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) with findings that the tank shells were fired from Israel. “We do not target journalists,” said IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht. He did not comment further.
The human rights organization Human Rights Watch said it was an “obviously deliberate attack on civilians and therefore a war crime.” Since it was likely a direct attack on civilians, it should be investigated as a war crime, Amnesty International said.
(written by Rene Wagner, edited by Christian Rüttger – If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at [email protected])