The UN Has Found That Israel Broke International Law When It Shot And Killed This Lebanese Journalist Reporting At Its Border
The UN found that Israel had broken international law by shooting at “clearly identifiable” journalists.
The UN has found that Israel broke international law when it shot and killed this Lebanese journalist reporting at its border.
37-year-old Issam Abdallah, a journalist for Reuters, was killed on Oct. 13 in south Lebanon when he was covering fighting between the Israeli military and Hezbollah militants after Israel declared war on Hamas on Oct. 7.
He had been at the border with 6 other journalists from AFP, Al Jazeera and Reuters, and all of them were wearing helmets and flak jackets with “PRESS” written on them.
After the journalists live streamed for more than 45 minutes, the Israeli military fired two missiles towards them.
The first shell hit Abdallah and killed him instantly, according to a investigation by Reuters released in December.
Less than 37 seconds later, the Israeli army fired another tank round, setting Al Jazeera’s car on fire and wounding the other journalists.
28-year-old AFP photographer Christina Assi was severely injured and later had to have a leg amputated.
The Reuters investigation found that Abdallah was killed by a 120mm shell, which is used by the Israeli military’s tanks, and not by Hezbollah or the Lebanese military, according to weapons experts.
When asked by Reuters, the Israeli military first said it “doesn’t target journalists” but said the next day that Abdallah had been “in an active combat zone”, adding that it was reviewing the incident.
On Wednesday March 13, the UN released its report of its own investigation, finding that Israel had broken international law by shooting at “clearly identifiable” journalists.
It found that there was no exchange of fire for more than 40 minutes before the Israeli tank opened fire.
Asked about the findings, an Israeli military spokesperson said that Hezbollah had attacked its forces so it had responded by firing back and then heard journalists had been injured.
He said that the Israeli military does not deliberately shoot at civilians including journalists and that it will continue to examine the incident.
It is illegal to target journalists under international humanitarian law, also known as the rules of war.
