A photo of Reuters video journalist, killed by an Israeli strike in Lebanon-South. (Credit: Joao Souza/L'Orient Today)
The French Foreign Ministry has demanded a comprehensive investigation into the artillery strike that claimed the life of a Reuters correspondent and injured six others, including two AFP journalists, on Oct. 13 in southern Lebanon. "France recalls the necessity to respect international humanitarian law," expressing it is both an "international and moral" obligation to "protect civilians, particularly journalists, who must be able to carry out their work freely and safely," the ministry stated in a press release.
The call for clarity comes on the heels of an AFP investigation published Thursday, pinpointing an Israeli tank shell as the cause of the deadly incident. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken responded the same day, deeming it "important and appropriate" to conduct "a comprehensive and thorough investigation" into the Israeli shelling. An Israeli military spokesperson had noted earlier that the location was "an active combat zone with ongoing gunfire," emphasizing the inherent danger of being in the area.
Reuters’s Issam Abdallah, 37, lost his life in the incident. Other casualties included two of his Reuters colleagues, two Al Jazeera reporters and two AFP journalists—one of whom, 28-year-old photographer Christina Assi, suffered severe injuries resulting in the amputation of her right leg and currently remains hospitalized.
AFP's investigation involved scrutinizing images from six different media outlets present during the attack, corroborating journalist accounts, local testimonies and security sources, alongside consultations with several weaponry experts. Seven weeks of scrutiny have led to a conclusion pointing to a unique type of 120 mm fin-stabilized tank shell, used exclusively by the Israeli military in the region, as responsible for the fatal strike, as per the experts interviewed. The journalists had been clearly identified.
The French ministry's communiqué reiterated its urgent call for "all parties to exercise restraint to prevent a regional conflagration."