From Le Figaro with AFP
Posted 51 minutes ago
Beirut. AHMAD AL RUBAYE / AFP
Portal journalist Issam Abdallah, who was killed in a strike in southern Lebanon on October 13, and six other journalists, including two from the AFP, were “attacked”, according to an investigation by Reporters Without Borders published on Sunday. Without categorically incriminating the Israeli army, the organization also points out that “according to the ballistic analysis carried out by RSF, the area from which the shots came is located east of the place where the group of journalists and their vehicles were attacked, where the border runs.” with Israel.
“Two attacks of varying intensity, 37 to 38 seconds apart, hit the location where a group of seven journalists were stationed on a road at around 6:00 p.m. on Friday, October 13, to report on the increasing tension at the border to report. Since the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip broke out on October 7, there have been exchanges of fire between Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Israel, as well as infiltration attempts by Palestinian militants based in Lebanon.
“The first attack killed Portal photojournalist Issam Abdallah and seriously injured AFP correspondent Christina Assi, while the second blew up Al Jazeera’s vehicle in close proximity and injured several of her colleagues,” writes RSF. Because they wore helmets and vests with the “Press” logo, “there is no possibility of them being confused with fighters.” They were in the open, high on a hill, for more than an hour and were therefore clearly visible,” says an RSF investigator in the video. “The initial conclusions of the investigation show that the reporters were not collateral victims of the shooting,” the organization said.
“The fact that there were two attacks in the same place, coming from the same direction, in such a short time (just over 30 seconds) clearly indicates precise targeting,” she adds, deeming it “implausible to confuse journalists were.” with fighters. According to two journalists present who were interviewed as part of RSF’s video investigation, an Israeli Apache helicopter had flown over the area before the tragedy. The Lebanese authorities accuse Israel of being responsible for the attacks. The Israeli army, for its part, said it was carrying out checks and said it was “sorry.” The AFP is conducting its own investigation and has asked Israel and Lebanon for “a thorough investigation.” Portal also called on Israeli authorities to conduct “a prompt, thorough and transparent investigation.”