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Attacks on journalists during the Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present)

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Attack on journalists in Lebanon
Part of the killing of journalists in the Israel–Hamas war and the Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present)
A protestor holding up a sign of Issam Abdallah during mass demonstrations in London, 29 October 2023
LocationLebanon and Syria
Date13 October – present
(1 year, 2 weeks and 4 days)
WeaponsMissiles, tank guns
Deaths6 journalists, 2 civilians
Injured10+
PerpetratorIsrael Israeli Defence Force

Since the beginning of the Israel–Hezbollah conflict on 8 October 2023, the Israeli Defense Forces has killed six journalists and injured at least 15 others in multiple incidents near the Lebanon–Israel border and in Syria. Lebanese residents have also attacked journalists covering the war from Hezbollah controlled areas which injured multiple and one instance resulted in the death of a Lebanese civilian guide.

Incidents

13 October

While a group of Reuters, AFP and Al Jazeera journalists were transmitting a live video feed of an IDF outpost over a kilometre from Aalma ech Chaab, two tank rounds fired directly hit the group. The first killed Reuters photojournalist Issam Abdallah. The second strike was much more powerful and ignited the Al Jazeera vehicle, a white Toyota, which Al Jazeera journalists Carmen Joukhadar and Elie Brakhya, as well as their AFP colleague Dylan Collins were standing next to.[1] Reuters' photographer Christina Assi was also critically injured and had her leg amputated.[2][3] Lebanon's army has said the IDF fired the missile that killed Abdallah. Another Reuters reporter at the scene said Abdallah was killed by projectiles fired from the direction of Israel.[4] His last post on Instagram, posted a week before he was killed, was a photograph of Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian journalist for Al Jazeera who had been killed by Israel in 2022.[5][6]

A February 2024 report by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon concluded that an Israeli tank killed Abadallah when it fired at "clearly identifiable journalists", and that this broke international law.[7] The report "assessed that there was no exchange of fire across the Blue Line at the time of the incident", with no records of any exchange of fire across the border for the 40 minutes before the tank firing.[7] The Israel Defense Forces responded to the United Nations report by claiming that Hezbollah attacked them, so tank fire was used to retaliate.[7]

13 November

Another group of Lebanese journalists were hit by a strike meters away from them while reporting in the town of Yaroun[8] The incident was filmed live by Al Jadeed. The anchor was heard speaking to the live anchor Rif Akil after the strike. The anchor said, "It's clear the rocket has fallen just a few metres away from you It's clear this is a direct strike on journalists operating in Yaroun." as the camera filmed the site of the attack.[8] Only minor injuries were reported.[8]

21 November

While an Al-Mayadeen crew was covering the latest developments on the Lebanese-Israeli border near Tayr Harfa in southern Lebanon, an Israeli tank targeted reporter Farah Omar and cameraman Rabih Maamari from the Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen TV. The artillery shelling led to the immediate deaths of Omar and Maamari.[9][10] A guide alongside the journalists was also killed. Al Mayadeen said the attack was deliberate because of the channel's pro-Palestinian views.[11]

23 December

An Al-Manar cameraman was injured in the eye after an IDF attack on a road in the al-Khardali area where correspondents of MTV and the state-owned National News Agency were also passing.[12] The IDF heavily bombarded the Deir Mimas-Khardali River area and stopped civilians from passing the road by shelling close to the vehicles passing.[12]

26 December

Hezbollah's anti-tank missile hit next to Channel 13 News team while interviewing farmer at Dovev, in an article following a prior Hezbollah assault that killed a 56-year-old employee of the Israel Electric Corporation, and injured five workers who were repairing electric lines.[13]

23-25 September

Main article: September 2024 Lebanon strikes

The IDF conducted an extensive bombing operation, codenamed Northern Arrows, on sites in Lebanon.[14] During that, the editor-in-chief of Miraya International Network was injured while he was preparing for an interview after an Israeli missile crashed through his window in the Beqaa Valley.[15][16] A Lebanese online editor for Al Mayadeen Hadi Al-Sayyed also died from wounds he sustained after an attack at his home.[17] On 25 September, Al Manar photojournalist Kamel Karaki died in a strike that targeted his hometown of Qantara.[18]

1 October

An Israeli airstrike in Damascus, Syria killed three civilians and injured nine others, according to the state-controlled Syrian Arab News Agency. Among the dead was Syrian television anchor Safaa Ahmad.[19]

25 October

An Israeli strike on a compound housing 18 journalists from at least seven media organizations with a courtyard containing cars clearly marked with "press" in Hasbaya killed an engineer and a cameraman for Al Mayadeen and another cameraman for Al-Manar, and injured three others.[20] The attack was the deadliest on journalists in Lebanon since the conflict began.[21]

List of attacks on journalists by Lebanese residents

  • 9 October 2023: Italian journalist Lucia Goracci and cameraman Marco Nicois were attacked in Lebanon while covering the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike in Jiyeh, resulting in the death of their local driver from a heart attack moments after.[22]
  • 19 June 2024: Hezbollah critic Rami Naim was assaulted by 20 armed men, allegedly affiliated with Hezbollah, in the Verdun neighborhood in Beirut. He claimed that it was an attempt of murder.[23][24]
  • 30 July 2024: After the Assassination of Fuad Shukr, reporters and journalists faced hostility while covering the incident, namely Al Jazeera and MTV, who were attacked live by Hezbollah supporters that were at the site of the raid in Haret Hreik and prevented them from covering the event.[25]
  • 29 September 2024: CNN Turk correspondent Fulya Ozturk was attacked by a passerby in Beirut as while reporting live from following the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.[26]
  • 10 October 2024: TV100 reporter Sertaç Murat Koç and news cameraman Yusuf Ziya Mert were assaulted and prevented from filming live after an Israeli airstrike on Beirut that killed 22 people after being asked about their nationality.[27]
  • 2 October 2024: Two Belgian journalists working for the independent broadcasting network VTM were injured after they were assaulted and shot at in Beirut by a group of men who accused them of working for Israel. The attack occurred while they were attempting to cover an explosion in the city.[28]

Investigations of the 13 October attack

Reporters Without Borders investigation

During the conflict, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) claimed that the Israeli army had deliberately targeted journalists.[29][30][31] An RSF investigation said that Israel had targeted journalists in missile strikes on 13 October that killed Reuters reporter Issam Abdallah and injured four others. These two Israeli missile strikes, 30 seconds apart, hit a group of seven journalists in southern Lebanon who were reporting on the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. In a video, the journalists are seen wearing vests and helmets identifying them as "PRESS". The marking was also present on the roof of their car, which exploded after being hit by the second missile.[32] According to the Council of Europe, the intentional targeting of journalists constitutes a war crime.[33]

Reuters and TNO

The Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), which tests and analyses munitions and weapons, assisted Reuters by examining the material collected at the site of the explosion of 13 October and found that the piece of metal was the fin of a 120 mm tank round fired 1.34 km away from the border fired from a smoothbore tank gun.[1] The TNO said that satellite images and a photo taken by Abdallah showed no signs of any previous attacks in their area which determines that the tailfin was significant investigating the attack.[1]

The TNO analyzed the recording from the Al Jazeera live feed of both strikes and a video recording from the Italian broadcaster RAI which shows the launch point of the second strike. Journalists from RAI were filming the cross-border shelling the same day of the attack from Alma ech Chaab where their camera was turned towards the sound of the blast.[1] Using the audio from the Al Jazeera broadcast they determined that the rounds were fired 1,343 metres away from the reporters and said that the sound signatures of both samples of the strikes matched indicating that the two tank rounds were fired from the same position.[1]

Amnesty International

Amnesty International and the Human Rights Watch held a joint press conference in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on 7 December where they revealed their findings of their investigations into the attack that killed Issam Abdallah and wounded six others on 13 October. They concluded that the group of journalists were hit by a tank round and said that it was a direct attack on civilians and were visibly identifiable as journalists which they called for it to be investigated as a war crime.[34][35] After analysis they found that the firing point was at an Israeli position close to the village of Jordeikh which was positioned east of the journalists.[36][34]

United Nations investigation

A February 2024 report by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon concluded that an Israeli tank killed Abadallah when it fired at "clearly identifiable journalists", and that this broke international law.[7] The report "assessed that there was no exchange of fire across the Blue Line at the time of the incident", with no records of any exchange of fire across the border for the 40 minutes before the tank firing.[7]

Reaction

Speaking about Abdallah's death, Israeli military spokesperson Richard Hecht said, "we're very sorry", but did not confirm that Israeli shells had hit the journalists.[6] The Israeli military said it using tank and artillery fire in the vicinity to deter a potential infiltration from Lebanon at the time Issam Abdallah was killed. They stated that their actions were in response to Hezbollah fire along the Israel–Lebanon border, and the incident is currently being reviewed.[37] The Israeli army also initiated an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Abdallah's death.[38]

Michael Downey, a journalist who works for The New York Times and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), commented on a video taken shortly before the incident: "No warning shot; that was intentional".[3]

Lebanon denounced the killing of Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah, who was killed during an Israeli artillery strike aimed at a group of reporters. Following Abdallah's death, the Lebanese army conducted an on-site assessment, affirming that Israel had launched the missile that killed him.[37][39] Lebanon's Foreign Ministry has instructed its mission to the UN in Beirut to express deep concerns regarding what they perceive as a clear infringement on freedom of opinion and press. Additionally, Lebanon is preparing to file a formal complaint with the UN Security Council, accusing Israel of intentionally causing Abdallah's death.[40][38]

Casualties

List of journalists and civilians either killed or injured.

Date Name Description News agency Ref.
2023-10-13 Carmen Joukhadar A Lebanese reporter who sustained major injuries and was hospitalized for weeks Al Jazeera [34]
Christina Assi A Lebanese photographer who sustained life-threatening injuries and remained in intensive care for weeks and had her leg amputated AFP [41]
Dylan Collins An American photographer who was injured in the second strike while trying to help Assi. AFP [34]
Elie Brakhya A Lebanese photojuornalist who sustained major injuries and was hospitalized for weeks Al Jazeera [34]
Issam Abdallah A Lebanese videographer who was immediately killed in an Israeli artillery strike that targeted the group of reporters. Reuters [42][43]
Maher Nazeh An Iraqi photojuornalist who sustained minor injuries Reuters [34]
Thaer al-Sudani An Iraqi photojuornalist who sustained minor injuries Reuters [34]
2023-11-13 Issam Mawassi A Lebanese videographer sustained minor injuries when the IDF attacked a group of journalists in Yaroun. Al Jadeed [44]
2023-11-21 Farah Omar A Lebanese correspondent working for the Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Tayr Harfa area. Al Mayadeen [45]
Hussein Aqeel Civilian who was alongside the Al Mayadeen journalists who was their local guide. (Civilian) [46]
Rabih Al Maamari [d] A Lebanese cameraman working for Al Mayadeen was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Tayr Harfa area. Al Mayadeen [45]
2023-12-23 Khodor Markiz A Lebanese cameraman who was injured in the eye after an IDF attack near his vehicle. Al Manar [12]
2024-9-23 Fadi Boudiya A Lebanese journalist injured after an Israeli missile crashed into his home. Miraya International Network [16]
Hadi Al-Sayyed A Lebanese online editor for Al Mayadeen died from wounds he sustained after an attack at his home. Al Mayadeen [17]
2024-9-25 Kamel Karaki A Lebanese photojournalist who was killed in his home town. Al Manar [18]
2024-10-1 Safaa Ahmad A Syrian TV anchor who died in an Israeli airstrike in Damascus alongside two civilians. Syrian Arab News Agency [19]
2024-10-2 Robin Ramaekers A Belgian journalist who suffered facial injuries after being assaulted by a group of men in Beirut. VTM [28]
Stijn De Smet A Belgian journalist who was shot on his leg in the same attack.
2024-10-25 Ghassan Najjar A Lebanese cameraman killed in an airstrike on a residential compound in Hasbaya. Al Mayadeen [21]
Mohammed Rida A Lebanese engineer killed in the airstrike in Hasbaya.
Wissam Qassim A Lebanese cameraman killed in the airstrike in Hasbaya. Al-Manar

See also

References

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  2. ^ Ward, Euan (13 October 2023). "A Reuters cameraman is killed and six other journalists are injured near Lebanon's southern border". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 15 October 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  3. ^ a b Neumann, Julia (14 October 2023). "Pressefreiheit im Israel-Gaza-Krieg: Journalist*innen als Zielscheibe". Die Tageszeitung: taz (in German). ISSN 0931-9085. Archived from the original on 18 October 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Obituary: Reuters' Issam Abdallah covered the world's biggest events with bravery and insight". Reuters. 15 October 2023. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
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  23. ^ "Lebanon: journalist attacked by alleged Hezbollah members - Agenzia Nova". www.agenzianova.com. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
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  44. ^ Jones, Kathy (23 December 2023). "Journalist casualties in the Israel-Gaza war". Committee to Protect Journalists. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
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