Reuters journalist killed, six other wounded by Israeli shelling in Lebanon

A Reuters videographer, Issam Abdallah was killed in south Lebanon on Friday, after an Israeli shell landed in an area where a group of international journalists covering clashes on the border was gathered.

Six other journalists were wounded in the incident, some of whom were rushed to hospitals in ambulances.

“We are deeply saddened to tell you that our videographer, Issam Abdallah, has been killed,” Reuters said in a statement.

The agency said that Abdallah was part of a Reuters crew in southern Lebanon that was providing a live signal, and added that that another two of its journalists, Thaer Al-Sudani and Maher Nazeh, were wounded in the shelling in the border area.

Lebanon is set to submit a complaint to the UN Security Council over “Israel’s deliberate killing of Lebanese journalist Issam Abdullah”, Reuters reported.

Issam Abdallah shared a selfie of himself in Lebanon on Friday (Photo: Instagram)

On Friday the late journalist posted a selfie of himself on an Instagram story, wearing protective gear, with smoke and dust from nearby shelling in the background.

Just a week ago, Abdallah shared a picture of Shireen Abu Akleh, a long-time Al Jazeera correspondent who was killed in May 2022 by Israeli forces in Palestine's occupied West Bank, including the caption 'Sweet' and a heart emoji.

Two journalists from Qatar’s Al-Jazeera TV and two from France’s international news agency were among the injured in Lebanon.

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned Israel’s shelling that struck the journalists “during its aggression on southern Lebanon.”

Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres expressed condolences to the family of the killed journalist, saying that, “so many journalists are paying with their lives to bring truth to everybody.”

“Journalists need to be protected and allowed to do their work,” UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said.

Later on Friday, dozens of Lebanon-based journalists and rights activists gathered outside the National Museum in Beirut to grieve over Abdallah’s death and the injury of the journalists.

The shelling occurred during an exchange of fire along the Lebanon-Israel border between Israeli troops and members of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group.

The Lebanon-Israel border has been witnessing sporadic acts of violence since Saturday’s attack by the militant Palestinian group Hamas on southern Israel.