Lebanon to file UN complaint over 'deliberate killing' of Reuters journalist by Israel

By Idris Okuduci

NABATIEH, Lebanon (AA) – Lebanon said on Saturday that it will file a complaint with the UN Security Council over “deliberate killing” by Israel of a Reuters journalist, a Lebanese national, state media reported.

According to Lebanon’s National News Agency, the Foreign Ministry instructed Lebanon’s permanent mission to the UN to submit a complaint for “deliberate killing” of video journalist Issam Abdullah, who worked for Reuters, and wounding two other journalists working for AFP and Al Jazeera.

These acts “constitutes a blatant attack and a crime against freedom of opinion and the press, human rights, and international humanitarian law, by easily killing unarmed journalists who are victims of their desire to convey the truth, defend it with the lenses of their cameras and pens, and transfer them to the tape of the repeated Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon,” the agency quoted the ministry as saying.

- Lebanese army says rocket launched from Israel

The Lebanese army said in a statement that according to a preliminary investigation, the rocket launched by the Israeli army towards the Alma Shaab region in southern Lebanon hit a vehicle carrying journalists.

One journalist was killed and five journalists were injured in the attack, said the statement.

It also said that Israel fired rockets loaded with phosphorus and heavy artillery towards several towns including, Kefr Shuba, Ayta Shaab, and Adaysa on Friday.