Justice for journalist Issam Abdallah: RSF organises round table at Beirut's centre for press freedom
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) organized a round table discussion on 2 July in Beirut entitled "Justice for Issam Abdallah" with Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the Alternative Press Syndicate (APS), the Reuters office in Beirut, and the lawyers representing Abdallah’s family. Together, these participants reaffirmed their commitment to seeking justice for the reporter killed by Israeli forces on 13 October 2023.
More than eight months after the death of journalist Issam Abdallah, RSF gathered several human rights organisations at its Center for Press Freedom in Beirut to discuss the murder of the Reuters news agency journalist.
Following RSF’s investigation, organisations such as HRW, Amnesty International, Reuters, Agence France Presse (AFP), and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) all concluded through their own investigations that Israel was responsible for the death of the 37-year-old video journalist.
The meeting was also attended by CPJ representatives;alongside Maya Gebeily, the director of the Beirut office of Reuters; AFP journalist Dylan Collins, who was injured during the 13 October attack that killed Abdallah; as well as the legal representatives of Abdallah’s family.
All the institutions present reaffirmed their solidarity with the journalist’s family and colleagues, and their commitment to ensuring justice for Abdallah.
"It’s been eight months since the Israeli army killed Issam Abdallah. Six independent investigations have reached the same conclusion: Issam Abdallah and his colleagues were targeted. Six journalists were injured, one killed. RSF’s round table brought together everyone committed to obtaining justice for Issam. RSF continues to explore all legal pathways to hold the Israeli army accountable for this crime. We also call on the Lebanese authorities to fulfill their role and investigate the murder of a Lebanese journalist killed on their soil. Impunity must end.
While reporting in the south of the country on 13 October 2023, Abdallah was targeted by artillery fire. Several investigations, including one published by RSF, found indications of targeted strikes by the Israeli military. Impunity for this murder threatens all reporters working at the Lebanese-Israeli border.
To date, no legal proceedings have been initiated against the Israeli army. Although Israel and Lebanon do not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the Lebanese government considered an appeal at the end of April. Yet a month later, on 29 May, the government ultimately decided against recognizing the jurisdiction of the international tribunal on its soil in the ongoing conflict.
Three Journalists Killed in Lebanon Since 7 October
The Israeli strikes on 13 October in the locality of Alma el-Chaab also injured two other Reuters journalists, Maher Nazeh and Thaer al-Sudani, as well as Carmen Joukhadar and Elie Brakhya from Al Jazeera, and Dylan Collins and Christina Assi from AFP. The latter, a 28-year-old photojournalist, had part of her leg amputated following the attack and testified her experience in an RSF video.
Just over a month after Abdallah’s death, two other reporters were killed in southern Lebanon. On 21 November 2023, Farah Omar, a correspondent for Al Mayadeen, and her colleague, photojournalist Rabih al-Maamari, also fell victim to Israeli bombings.
