A Reuters videographer killed by Israeli shelling in southern Lebanon has been laid to rest in his home town in a funeral procession attended by hundreds of people.
Draped in a Lebanese flag, Issam Abdallah’s body was carried on a stretcher through the southern town of Khiam from his family’s home to the local cemetery.
Dozens of journalists and Lebanese legislators attended the funeral.
Mr Abdallah was killed on Friday evening near the village of Alma al-Shaab in south Lebanon when an Israeli shell landed on a gathering of international journalists covering exchange of fire along the border between Israeli troops and members of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group.
The Lebanese army said in a statement on Saturday that Israeli troops fired a shell the day before hitting a civilian car used by journalists, killing Mr Abdallah and wounding others.
The army said that other areas in south Lebanon at the time were targeted by an Israeli helicopter gunship and artillery, including the outskirts of the villages of Marwaheen, Kfar Chouba, Aita al-Shaab and Odaisseh.
Lebanon’s foreign ministry asked Beirut’s mission to the United Nations to file a complaint against Israel over Friday’s shelling, calling it a “flagrant violation and a crime against freedom of opinion and press”.
The statement was carried by the state-run National News Agency.
Israeli military spokesperson Lt Col Richard Hecht told The Associated Press in Jerusalem on Saturday: “We are aware of the incident with the Reuters journalist and we are looking into it.”
Lt Col Hecht did not confirm that the journalists had been hit by Israeli shells, but called the incident “tragic”, adding: “We’re very sorry for his death.”
Reuters said two of its journalists, Thaer Al-Sudani and Maher Nazeh, were wounded in the same shelling, while Qatar’s Al-Jazeera TV said its cameraman Elie Brakhya and reporter Carmen Joukhadar, were also hurt.
France’s international news agency, Agence France-Presse, said two of its journalists were injured. They were identified as photographer Christina Assi and video journalist Dylan Collins.
AFP reported on Saturday that Ms Assi was in need of blood transfusions at the American University Medical Centre in Beirut.
The Lebanon-Israel border has been witnessing sporadic acts of violence since last Saturday’s surprise attack by the militant Palestinian group Hamas on southern Israel.
Journalists from various countries have been flocking to Lebanon to monitor the situation.
