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

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 AFP, Amnesty International, Human 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