Tue Oct 14 10:05:58 UTC 2025: **FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

**Lebanon Considers Legal Action Against Israel Over Killing of Reuters Journalist**

**Beirut, Lebanon** – In the wake of mounting pressure from human rights organizations, the Lebanese Ministry of Justice is exploring legal options to press charges against Israel concerning the October 13, 2023, attack in southern Lebanon that killed Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah and wounded six other journalists.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Reporters Without Borders have both lauded this move, describing it as a long-overdue step towards justice. The October attack, attributed to an Israeli Merkava tank, targeted a group of clearly identifiable journalists near the Israeli border. A UNIFIL investigation found that the journalists were stationary, removed from hostilities, and had been in place for over an hour before being struck. No exchange of fire had occurred in the area for at least 40 minutes prior to the incident.

Besides Abdallah’s death, the attack left Al Jazeera cameraman Elie Brakhia and reporter Carmen Joukhadar, Reuters journalists Thaer Al-Sudani and Maher Nazeh, and AFP’s Christina Assi and Dylan Collins injured. Assi suffered the most severe injury, requiring amputation of her right leg.

“Israel’s apparently deliberate killing of Issam Abdallah should have served as a crystal clear message for Lebanon’s government that impunity for war crimes begets more war crimes,” said Ramzi Kaiss, HRW’s Lebanon researcher. He further added that the incident, appearing to be a deliberate attack on civilians, constituted a war crime.

Echoing this sentiment, Morris Tidball-Binz, UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, called the attack “a premeditated, targeted and double-tapped attack from the Israeli forces, a clear violation… of international humanitarian law, a war crime.”

Reporters Without Borders has gone further, urging Lebanon to refer the case to the International Criminal Court. The call for accountability comes amid growing concern over the safety of journalists in the region. In February, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported a record 124 journalists killed in 2024, with Israel held responsible for over two-thirds of these deaths.

The Lebanese government’s decision to investigate legal avenues marks a potential turning point in seeking justice for the victims of the October 2023 attack and addressing the broader issue of journalist safety in conflict zones.

Read More