The Israeli army comments on the results of the Reuters investigation into the killing of a journalist in Lebanon

In response to an investigation conducted by Reuters that concluded that its forces killed a journalist from the same agency in southern Lebanon on October 13, the Israeli army said that the incident “took place in an active combat zone,” explaining that it was “under review.”

Without directly addressing the death of Reuters journalist Issam Abdullah, an Israeli military statement said that fighters from the Lebanese Hezbollah group “launched a cross-border attack at that time,” and that “Israeli forces opened fire to prevent the infiltration of a suspected armed man.”

The Reuters investigation concluded that an Israeli army tank killed Abdullah (37 years old) and wounded 6 journalists in Lebanon on October 13, by firing two shells in quick succession from inside Israel, while the journalists were filming cross-border bombing.

The two strikes led to the death of journalist Abdullah from Reuters, and the serious wounding of an Agence France-Presse photographer, Christina Assi (28 years old), one kilometer from the Israeli border near the village of Alma al-Shaab.

Reuters spoke with more than 30 government and security officials, military experts and forensic investigators, along with lawyers, medics and witnesses, to come up with a detailed account of the incident.

Reuters reviewed hours of video footage from eight media outlets that were in the area at the time, and hundreds of photos taken before and after the attack, including high-resolution satellite images.

As part of its investigation, Reuters also collected and obtained evidence from the scene, including shrapnel on the ground, others in Reuters’ car, three bulletproof vests, a camera, a tripod, and a large piece of metal.

The Israeli government had stated that it was “not aware of the findings” reached by investigators and published by Reuters.

In response to a question about the findings of reports by Reuters, Agence France-Presse, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch, Israeli government spokesman Elon Levy said Thursday, in a press briefing broadcast on television: “We do not target civilians… We do everything in our power to keep them away.” civilians from harm.