
The Lebanese army said on Saturday (Oct 14) that Israel was behind the cross-border rocket fire that killed a Reuters journalist and wounded others from AFP, Reuters and Al Jazeera. In a statement, the army said that Israeli forces fired a rocket shell that hit a civilian car belonging to a media team, leading to the death of Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah and wounding others.
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The incident occurred on Friday when the journalists were working near Alma al-Shaab, close to the Israel border, where the Israeli military and Lebanese militia Hezbollah have been trading fire in border clashes.
In a statement, Reuters said that Abdallah was killed while providing a live video signal for broadcasters.
Speaking to Reuters, Abdallah's mother Fatima Kanso blamed Israel for the death of her son. "Israel deliberately killed my son. They were all wearing journalists’ gear and the word 'press' was visible. Israel cannot deny this crime," Kanso said.
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Shortly before Abdallah was killed, he posted on social media a photograph of himself wearing a helmet and a flak jacket with the word "press" visible on it.
The Israeli army said on Saturday that it was sorry for Abdallah's death. Israel has not acknowledged responsibility for the incident so far.
On Friday, Israel's United Nations envoy Gilad Erdan said, "Obviously, we would never want to hit or kill or shoot any journalist that is doing its job. But you know, we're in a state of war, things might happen." Erdan said that an investigation into the incident would be launched.
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