The Lebanese Government announced today that it will present a complaint against Israel before the United Nations Security Council for the “deliberate murder” of the cameraman Isam Abdullah, who died yesterday in a bombing in the south of the country, while the Israeli Army affirmed today that “it is not clear who fired the shot” and that he is investigating what happened.
The journalist from the Reuters news agency died and six other reporters, from the same agency, AFP and the Qatari television channel Al Jazeera, were injured yesterday in the context of the outbreak of violence in the region unleashed a week ago with the incursion of the Hamas Palestinian movement in Israeli territory.
The Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah and Lebanon’s acting Prime Minister Nayib Mikati pointed to Israel as directly responsible for the incident.
In this context, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry announced today its intention to present a complaint to the UN Security Council against Israel for the “flagrant aggression, a crime against freedom of expression, journalism and human rights” that constitutes the attack against journalists, reported the state news agency ANI.
The text also “holds Israel responsible for the current escalation” in southern Lebanon, the scene of numerous clashes this week between Hezbollah and Israel.
“If this situation is not resolved, the region could explode, threatening international peace and security,” concludes Lebanese diplomacy in the note cited by the Europa Press news agency.
In harmony, the Lebanese army today accused Israel of being responsible for the bombing that killed the Reuters journalist and injured several others.
“The Israeli enemy fired a rocket at a civilian press vehicle, resulting in the death of cameraman Isam Abdullah” and wounding several other journalists, according to an army statement.
On the contrary, the military spokesman for the Israeli Army Richard Hecht limited himself to offering his condolences for the death of the cameraman and indicated that an investigation into the matter is already underway, reported the local newspaper The Times of Israel.
“It is not clear who shot him, we are very sorry for his death,” the spokesperson said during a press conference.
“We are urgently seeking more information, working with authorities in the region and supporting Isam’s family and colleagues. Our thoughts are with his relatives at this terrible time,” Reuters noted yesterday after learning of the incident.
In turn, the head of the Middle East section of the NGO Reporters Without Borders, Jonathan Daghar, reported that preliminary information indicates that the journalists hit “were identified as such and were not surrounded by combatants.”
“We lack a little information, but everything points to a deliberate attack. If it was, we are talking about a war crime,” he indicated about an event reminiscent of the murder of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who died in May 2022 when he was shot in the head by the Israeli Army while covering an Armed Forces operation in Jenin, in the West Bank.
For his part, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, yesterday condemned the attack and offered his condolences for the death of the journalist in southern Lebanon.
“Protecting journalists is a concern for all of us. While journalists defend the truth, we support them,” said Dujarric on the social network X (exTwitter).
Source: Ambito
