Israeli tank fire killed Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah and injured six other international journalists in a double strike in southern Lebanon on October 13, forensic analysis by CNN suggests, confirming reports by two news organizations and two human rights groups.
On Thursday, Reuters, AFP, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch released investigations into the circumstances of the deadly strike. AFP and HRW claimed the strike was a “deliberate,” targeted attack by Israel on the journalists. In a statement to Reuters, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Richard Hecht said: “We don’t target journalists.” He did not provide further comment, the news agency reported.
The Israel Defense Forces on Friday said that the October incident in which a Reuters journalist was killed is still “under review.”
AFP photographer Christina Assi had her leg amputated and remains in the hospital as a result of the strike, according to AFP.
Eylon Levy, a spokesperson for the Israeli government, said Thursday that he was “not familiar” with the new reports. “The guiding principle in Israel’s campaign against Hamas is we uphold the principles of international law regarding proportionality, necessity, distinction,” he said. “We target Hamas, we do not target civilians.”
CNN’s forensic analysis of multiple videos, including a live AFP video feed from the time and place of the attack, has determined that the two strikes – 37 seconds apart – which hit the journalists was a supersonic event that came from the direction of Israel
Israel and Hezbollah were engaged in intense crossfire across the Lebanon-Israel border at the time.
CNN has also seen a photo from the scene of the attack showing the tail fin of a 120 mm tank shell. The photo was verified by a source familiar with the investigation.
Neither the Lebanese army nor the Iran-backed Hezbollah are known to have such ammunition in their arsenal.
