Assaf Abu Rahal

Al-Akhbar

August 3, 2010, in an area near Al-Adaysseh, Lebanon

Abu Rahal, 55, a reporter for the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, was killed during a border clash between Israeli and Lebanese military forces near the southern town of Al-Adaysseh, according to news reports. 

He was struck by an Israeli shell after a skirmish broke out shortly after noon, news reports said. The fighting was apparently triggered by an Israeli tree-cutting operation along the border, according to news reports. Lebanese authorities claimed Israeli forces crossed the border during the operation, an assertion Israel disputed.

Abu Rahal had covered southern Lebanon for Al-Akhbar for four years, reporting extensively on the aftermath of the 2006 conflict between Israeli and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon, the newspaper said. He was married and had three children.

The fighting was the deadliest along the border since the 2006 conflict, according to news reports. Three Lebanese soldiers and one Israeli officer were killed in the clash, according to the BBC.

Medium: Print

Job: Print Reporter

Beats Covered: War

Gender: Male

Local or Foreign: Local

Freelance: No

Type of Death: Crossfire/Combat-Related

Suspected Source of Fire: Military Officials

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• Reporter killed during Israeli-Lebanese border clash, August 3, 2010