HORRIFIC

Journalists Killed and Maimed in Israel-Lebanon Border Strike

“We are deeply saddened to learn that our videographer, Issam Abdallah, has been killed,” a Reuters spokesperson said.

A group of international journalists working near the Israel-Lebanon border were hit by Israeli artillery fire on Friday, leaving one dead and six wounded in what one witness said appeared to be a direct hit on a group of clearly identified reporters.

“We are deeply saddened to learn that our videographer, Issam Abdallah, has been killed,” a spokesperson for the news agency Reuters told The Daily Beast in a statement. “Issam was part of a Reuters crew in southern Lebanon who was providing a live signal. We are urgently seeking more information, working with authorities in the region, and supporting Issam’s family and colleagues. Our thoughts are with his family at this terrible time.”

The spokesperson said Reuters journalists Thaer Al-Sudani and Maher Nazeh “also sustained injuries and are seeking medical care.”

The live feed was taken offline Friday morning after the journalists shooting the footage appeared to be hit by rocket fire. In the footage, which The Daily Beast has chosen not to share, a loud explosion occurs, followed by a woman shouting, “What happened?! What happened?! I can’t feel my legs! I can’t feel my legs!” A man can be heard saying, “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

No official announcement had been made on the source of the strike but Al Jazeera and the Associated Press attributed it to Israel.

Qatar-based news outlet Al Jazeera said two of their journalists, Karmen Jokhadar and Eli Brakhia, were among those injured. The Agence France-Presse news agency also said two of its journalists were wounded.

Al Jazeera journalist Ali Hashem said on air that the journalists were part of a convoy of reporters traveling in the border area on Friday. At one point they separated, with the Reuters and AFP crew going to an area overlooking the scene and the Al Jazeera crew going to a village, he said.

“Then there was this direct shell that hit the team,” he said, adding that he thought the round had been fired by an Israeli tank.

He said all the reporters were clearly wearing jackets and helmets identifying them as members of the press.

“This crew was together all day and the Israelis had seen this crew because we were on the road all the time, back and forth,” he said. “We were identified clearly.”

AFP photo editor Christina Assi shared footage on Instagram of what were purportedly the final moments before one group of reporters—seemingly the Reuters and AFP crew—was hit.

In a statement on Friday, Reporters Without Borders said it “condemns this heinous crime against journalists and is continuing its investigations into the circumstances of this tragedy.”

And Sherif Mansour, the Middle East and North Africa program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said, “Journalists are making great sacrifices across the region to cover this important conflict. All parties should recognize that they are civilians and take measures to ensure their safety.”

Issam’s final video, which was posted to his X feed shortly before his death, showed thick white smoke rising in the clear blue sky as piercing artillery fire detonated nearby. “Bombing in the vicinity of Alma Al-Shaab - southern Lebanon,” the caption read.

Al-Sudani’s most recent photo for Reuters was uploaded on Friday at 11:05 local time, according to the Reuters image library.

Al-Sudani’s work of late has focused on the Israel-Hamas war through, literally, a Lebanese lens. His photos of late have brought readers to otherwise serene hilltops but for the explosions off in the middle distance.

The war between Israel and Hamas erupted last Saturday when armed militants entered Israeli territory from Gaza and killed more than 1,000 people.

It extended to the Lebanese border after Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel “in solidarity” with the Palestinian people.

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Justin RohrlichReporter

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