Human Rights Watch (HRW) has confirmed that the two Israeli strikes on a group of journalists in South Lebanon on October 13 were deliberate and targeted civilians, constituting a war crime. According to HRW’s report, the attacks killed Reuters’ journalist Issam Abdullah and injured six other journalists, representing an intentional attack on civilians, thus categorizing them as war crimes.
The report included witness testimonies and validated video and photographic evidence, which indicated that the journalists were entirely removed from ongoing combat activities and were clearly identified as media personnel. They remained stationary for at least 75 minutes before being hit by two consecutive strikes. HRW found no evidence of a military target near the journalists’ location.
The evidence reviewed suggested that the Israeli military knew, or should have known, that the group targeted were civilians. The group was visible to nearby drone cameras likely operated by Israel and within the line of sight of five Israeli observation towers. It’s likely that the group was targeted with at least one unit of ammunition from the main gun of a tank from an Israeli military position approximately 1.5 kilometers southeast.
HRW urged Israel’s major allies, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Germany, to suspend military aid and arms sales to Israel due to the real risk of these being used to commit serious violations.
