AFP REPORT SAYS ISRAEL DEFINITIVELY TARGETED LEBANESE JOURNALISTS ON OCT 13
December 12, 2023An Agence France-Presse (AFP) investigation into the strike in southern Lebanon near the Lebanese village of Alma al-Chaab, on October 13 that killed a Reuters journalist, Issam Abdallah, 37 and injured six others, including severely wounding AFP photographer Christina Assi, 28, conclusively determined that it was an Israeli tank that killed them.
A separate Reuters investigation also came to the same conclusion.
This report is criminal evidence that must be included in the @ICC investigation into war crimes being committed by the Israeli militiary and sanctioned by the State of Israel.
If you advocate for TRUTH & JUSTICE watch the report and SHARE to spread the knowledge.
@AFP @Reuters
#ceasefirenow #FreePalestine #Interfaith #StandWithUs #Truth #Palestine #Gaza #Humanrights #BoycottZionist #Israel #فلسطين #اسرائیل #غزة
English Script:
Reporter: On the 13th of October 2023, a group of seven journalists from Reuters, Al Jazeera and Agence France-Presse were hit by two strikes near Lebanon’s border with Israel.
Chrsitina Assi: What happened? I can’t feel my legs
Dylan Collins: Oh fuck. Oh fuck.
Chrsitina Assi: I can’t feel my legs.
Reporter: Agence France-Presse and the NGO Airwars conducted a weeks-long investigation to determine the origin of the strikes. On the 13th of October. AFP journalists Dylan Collins and Christina Assi were filming alongside colleagues from Al Jazeera and Reuters. They were there to film cross-border clashes between the Israeli army and armed groups in southern Lebanon. The journalists were set up on a hill which they had selected in advance. They were all wearing bulletproof vests, clearly marked press, with their cameras prominently on tripods. The Hill appeared to be a safe location, offering a wide vantage point to observe an Israeli military base.
Dylan Collins: We had been at that position for about an hour before we were hit and there was there was no military activity near us. We didn’t hear any outgoing fire from the Lebanese side was all incoming Israeli fire along the hills in front of us.
Reporter: AFP’s investigation found there was no military activity in their immediate proximity. Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah was killed instantly. The other six were all injured. AFP journalist Christina Assi would have a leg amputated a few weeks later.
Dylan Collins: I saw Christina on the ground and I immediately ran to her and she was screaming that she couldn’t feel her legs.
Chrsitina Assi: Everything gets white and I lose sensation in my legs and I start crying for help.
Dylan Collins: I got it (the tourniquet) up to her knee and we were hit the second time.
Reporter: The second strike destroyed an Al-Jazeera vehicle. 37 seconds separated the two strikes. A fragment of munition was found next to Issam Abdullah’s body. Six weapons experts analyzed the munition and concluded it was a 120 millimeters shell typically used by Israel’s Merkava tanks. They also agreed that no other military group or organization in the region uses this type of munition. AFP concluded the two strikes had come from the same direction southeast of the journalists, where Israeli tanks were operating. The two strikes happened in under a minute, 4 to 5 meters apart.
Chris Cobb-Smith: You have to take into account the the sophistication and the capabilities of the surveillance assets of the Israeli army. Both rounds were clearly definitively targeted. I mean, they were very accurate in my assessment. Those individuals were targeted.
Reporter: The AFP investigation was not able to determine which military unit was involved or what level of command gave the order to shoot. Israel did not respond to AFP’s request for comment in time for publication.
Phil Chetwynd: We cannot allow such a culture of impunity to develop and it is absolutely essential that we rally as an industry to ensure that something is done about this. But AFP has been very clear that we will take all judicial avenues that we deem relevant and possible to ensure that we can get justice for Christina and Issam.
