Reuters journalist intentionally killed by Israel: NGO

PARIS

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) announced Sunday that a ballistic analysis has revealed that Reuters journalist Issam Abdullah was killed in a targeted strike by the Israeli military.

RSF shared the initial findings of its investigation into the killing of Abdullah on the Lebanese-Israeli border on Oct. 13 on its website.

It said that on the day of the attack at around 6 p.m., two attacks took place approximately 30 seconds apart in the area, where seven journalists including Abdullah were located.

In the first attack, Abdullah was killed and another reporter was wounded, while in the second attack, a vehicle belonging to the Qatar-based news agency Al Jazeera exploded and many journalists were injured, the statement said.

The ballistic analysis revealed that the shots came from the direction of the Israeli border, from the east of the area where the journalist group and vehicles were targeted.

"The fact that there were two attacks coming from the same direction to the same point in such a short time (just over 30 seconds) clearly shows that there was deliberate targeting,” it stressed.

The statement further noted that the journalists who were at the point where the attack took place had bulletproof vests with "Press" written on them and were wearing helmets.

RSF also emphasized that Edmond Sassine, one of the journalists, said an Israeli helicopter was flying overhead a few seconds before the attack.

Israel has heavily bombarded Gaza since Oct. 7 when the Palestinian group Hamas carried out a surprise cross-border attack.

Army spokesperson Daniel Hagari announced Saturday that the military was "expanding its operations" and moving to the "next phase of our war against Hamas."

Gaza's 2.3 million residents are also grappling with shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine due to Israel’s blockade of the enclave. Only a few aid trucks have crossed into Gaza since the opening of the Rafah crossing point last weekend.

Tensions have been escalating on the Israeli-Lebanese border since the launch by Hamas of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and Israel’s subsequent attacks on the Gaza Strip.

Exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and the Israeli army have caused deaths and injuries on both sides.

*Writing by Merve Berker in Ankara