No justice for journalists targeted by Israel despite strong evidence of war crime

Mourners carry the body of Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah, who was killed by Israeli shelling, during his funeral procession in his hometown of Khiam, southern Lebanon, on Saturday, October 14, 2023. (Photo: AP/Bilal Hussein)

Less than a week into the Israel-Gaza war, at 6:02 p.m. on October 13, 2023, the Israeli military fired two tank shells 37 seconds apart into south Lebanon. The military’s target? Seven journalists standing on a hilltop around a mile from the closest hostilities, wearing clearly marked “Press” vests and reporting next to a car marked “TV.”

The Israeli attack instantly killed Reuters’ veteran video journalist Issam Abdallah. Agence France-Presse (AFP) photojournalist Christina Assi sustained injuries resulting in the amputation of her right leg and five other journalists were also wounded: AFP’s Dylan Collins, Al Jazeera’s Carmen Joukhadar and Elie Brakhya, and Reuters’ Thaer Al-Sudani and Maher Nazeh.

In March 2024, an investigation by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon concluded that an Israeli tank targeted “clearly identifiable” journalists in violation of international law, according to Reuters’ review of the investigation, which has not been made public. Four additional investigations — by AFPAmnesty InternationalHuman Rights Watch, and Reuters — all independently arrived at the same conclusion: that Israel conducted a deliberate attack on the journalists. A deliberate attack on civilians constitutes a war crime under international law

Yet, a year later, Israel still has not confirmed if it has even completed a preliminary investigation into the attack. The North America Media Desk of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told CPJ in an email that the military used tank and artillery fire on October 13 to prevent a suspected “terrorist infiltration,” and the incident was “under review.”

“In spite of extensive evidence of a war crime, a year on from the attack, Israel has faced zero accountability for the targeting of journalists,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg.

Read the full report and more CPJ coverage of the Israel-Gaza war


On Edge: What US election could mean for journalists and global press freedom
Journalists report from the U.S. Capitol as pro-Trump protesters stormed the building on January 6, 2021, to contest the certification of the 2020 presidential election. (Photo: Reuters/Ahmed Gaber)
Journalists report from the U.S. Capitol as pro-Trump protesters stormed the building on January 6, 2021, to contest the certification of the 2020 presidential election. (Photo: Reuters/Ahmed Gaber)

A CPJ special report ahead of the November vote finds that the hostile media climate fostered during Donald Trump’s presidency has continued to fester, with members of the press confronting challenges that could shape the global media environment for decades.

“It is concerning that in an increasingly polarized environment, threats to the media have become routine in the U.S.,” said Katherine Jacobsen, CPJ’s U.S., Canada, and Caribbean program coordinator and author of the report. “The scapegoating of journalists not only has consequences for them personally, but also poses grave risks to the public’s right to be informed, a core element of any democracy.”

Threats to journalists include police assaults, violence, and online harassment, with work-related attacks in the first nine of months of 2024 increasing by more than 50% compared to 2023. Media outlets are also facing a draining onslaught of lawsuits that could endanger reporters’ First Amendment rights and ability to protect confidential sources.

Read the full report and press release

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Journalists Attacked

Myat Thu Tan

MURDERED

Myat Thu Tan, a contributor to the local news website Western News and correspondent for several independent Myanmar news outlets, was shot and killed on January 31, 2024, while in military custody in Mrauk-U in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State.

He was arrested on September 22, 2022, and held in pre-trial detention under a broad provision of the penal code that criminalizes incitement and the dissemination of false news for critical posts he made on his Facebook page. Myat Thu Tan had not been tried or convicted at the time of his death.

The journalist’s body was found buried in a bomb shelter, with the bodies of six other political detainees, and showed signs of torture.

Myanmar’s military junta has cracked down on journalists and media outlets since seizing power in a February 2021 coup.

In at least 8 out of 10 cases, the murderers of journalists go free. CPJ is waging a global campaign against impunity.

journalists killed in 2024 (motive confirmed)
imprisoned in 2023
missing globally