Reporters Without Borders says ‘unlikely’ that Issam Abdallah and six other journalists were mistaken for combatants.

Alternate Source: https://rsf.org/en/rsf-video-investigation-death-reuters-reporter-issam-abdallah-lebanon-journalists-vehicle-was

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has released a video reconstruction of the tragedy that resulted in the death of one journalist and the injury of several others. The initial findings of the investigation show that the reporters were not collateral victims of the shooting. One of their vehicles, marked “press”, was targeted, and it was also clear that the group stationed next to it was journalists.

From linked source:

Reporters Without Borders says ‘unlikely’ that Issam Abdallah and six other journalists were mistaken for combatants.

A Reuters journalist killed in strikes near the Israel-Lebanon border was deliberately targeted along with six other media workers injured in the attacks, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has said.

Video journalist Issam Abdallah, 37, was killed in southern Lebanon on October 13 while covering fighting between Israel’s military and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

Six other journalists, including Al Jazeera cameraperson Elie Brakhia and reporter Carmen Joukhadar, were wounded when two rounds of munitions hit the village of Alma al-Shaab in quick succession.

“Two strikes in the same place in such a short space of time (just over 30 seconds), from the same direction, clearly indicate precise targeting,” RSF said on Sunday, citing the preliminary results of an investigation based on video footage and ballistic analysis.

  • crandlecan@mander.xyzEnglish
    182·
    11 months ago

    While RSF did not directly attribute responsibility to Israel, the press freedom advocacy organisation said journalists had witnessed Israeli military helicopters near the scene and the strikes had come “from the direction of the Israeli border”.

    The Al Jazeera Media Network has accused Israel’s military of deliberately targeting the journalists to silence the media, condemning the attacks as part of a pattern of “repeated atrocities” against journalists.

    The Israeli army did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Israel’s military has not acknowledged responsibility for the attacks but a spokesperson previously said officials were “very sorry” for Abdallah’s death and were “looking into it”.