KHIAM, Lebanon: A Reuters videographer killed in Israeli shelling of southern Lebanon was laid to rest in his hometown Saturday in a funeral procession attended by hundreds of people.
Draped in a Lebanese flag, Issam Abdallah’s body was carried on a stretcher through the streets of the southern town of Khiam, from his family’s home to the local cemetery.
Dozens of journalists and Lebanese lawmakers attended the funeral.
Abdallah was killed Friday evening near the village of Alma Al-Shaab in south Lebanon when an Israeli shell landed on a gathering of international journalists covering exchange of fire along the border between Israeli troops and members of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group.
The Lebanese army said in a statement Saturday that Israeli troops fired a shell the day before hitting a civilian car used by journalists killing Abdallah and wounding others. The army said that other areas in south Lebanon at the time were targeted by an Israeli helicopter gunship and artillery, including the outskirts of the villages of Marwaheen, Kfar Chouba, Aita Al-Shaab and Odaisseh.
Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry asked Beirut’s mission to the United Nations to file a complaint against Israel over Friday’s shelling, calling it a “flagrant violation and a crime against freedom of opinion and press.” The statement was carried by the state-run National News Agency.
Israeli military spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht told The Associated Press in Jerusalem on Saturday, “We are aware of the incident with the Reuters journalist and we are looking into it.”
Hecht did not confirm that the journalists had been hit by Israeli shells, but called the incident “tragic,” adding, “we’re very sorry for his death.”
Reuters said in a statement that two of its journalists, Thaer Al-Sudani and Maher Nazeh, were wounded in the same shelling, while Qatar’s Al-Jazeera TV said its cameraman Elie Brakhya and reporter Carmen Joukhadar, were wounded as well.
France’s international news agency, Agence France-Presse, said two of its journalists were also wounded. They were identified as photographer Christina Assi, and video journalist Dylan Collins.
AFP reported Saturday that Assi was in need of blood transfusions at the American University Medical Center in Beirut where she was hospitalized.
The Lebanon-Israel border has been witnessing sporadic acts of violence since Saturday’s surprise attack by the militant Palestinian group Hamas on southern Israel.
Journalists from various countries have been flocking to Lebanon to monitor the situation.
Meanwhile, AFP on Saturday urged both Israeli and Lebanese authorities to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the firing along their border that killed and wounded journalists.
“It is crucial that every effort is made to ascertain how a group of journalists, clearly identified and duly accredited, could be targeted in this way. We urge the relevant authorities not to settle for mere ‘checks’ but to carry out an in-depth investigation and provide well-documented, clear, and transparent answers,” said Fabrice Fries, AFP’s chairman and CEO.
The journalists believe they were hit by fire coming from the Israeli side of the border.
Among the two injured AFP journalists, photographer Christina Assi suffered severe injuries, particularly to her legs.
* With AP and AFP
