For Agence France-Presse, it was an Israeli attack that caused the death of a journalist and the injury of six others on October 13 on the border between Lebanon and the Jewish state.
After a seven-week investigation, Agence France-Presse (AFP) names a fin-stabilized 120mm tank grenade responsible for the death of Portal journalist Issam Abdallah and the wounding of six other journalists, including two from the AFP. The events occurred on October 13 in southern Lebanon. These journalists came to report on cross-border clashes between the Israeli army and armed groups in southern Lebanon led by Hezbollah.
Reporters film cross-border shelling near the village of Alma Al-Chaab, Lebanon, near the Israeli border, October 13, 2023. ISSAM ABDALLAH / Portal
After the bombing, an impressive fragment of ammunition was found very close to the remains of Issam Abdallah. It is from the first attack in which the Portal journalist was killed. Photos of this evidence were analyzed by six weapons experts consulted by AFP and Airwars, a British collective of independent experts and investigators involved in the investigation. Everyone agrees that it is a piece of 120mm armor hull stabilized by fins, typically used by the Israeli army for its Merkava tanks. According to these analysts, no other military group or organization in the region uses this type of ammunition.
Erik Kroon holds a tailfin of a tank grenade in The Hague, Netherlands, December 6, 2023 as part of the investigation for Portal into the murder of reporter Issam Abdallah on October 13, 2023 in southern Lebanon. EMILIE MADI / Portal
The sequence of two attacks 37 seconds apart also shows that they were targeted attacks, explain the experts interviewed by AFP and Airwars. The journalists were also clearly identifiable by helmets and bulletproof vests marked “Press,” according to a video recorded on the phone and posted on the Instagram account of Christina Assi, AFP photographer, who underwent an amputation of his right leg was and remains in the hospital shortly after 5 p.m.
Two other independent investigations by human rights organizations Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International, which AFP consulted before their publication, both describe “Israeli attacks”. HRW condemned “an apparently deliberate attack on civilians” that “should or could be prosecuted as a war crime.” For Amnesty, this is “likely a direct attack on civilians that must be investigated as a war crime.”
The burned Al-Jazeera car on October 15, 2023 near the village of Alma Al-Chaab in Lebanon, where Portal journalist Issam Abdallah was killed when a tank shell hit him while filming a cross-border bombing, October 13 2023. MAYA GEBEILY / Portal
On October 14, Lebanese authorities accused Israel of being responsible for the shooting, calling it “premeditated murder.” The Israeli army did not respond to AFP’s question about the conclusions of its joint investigation with Airwars. She initially said she was “very sorry” for the death of journalist Issam Abdallah, without realizing her responsibility, and claimed to be carrying out “checks.”
“The AFP was very clear [sur le fait] “that she will pursue all legal avenues she deems possible and relevant to ensure that justice is served for Christina and Issam,” said the news agency’s information director, Phil Chetwynd.
Erik Kroon of the Dutch Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) conducted an investigation for Portal into the murder of reporter Issam Abdallah on October 13, 2023 in southern Lebanon. EMILIE MADI / Portal