CPJ: Israel’s ‘mistake’ claim fails to justify deadly October 2023 attack on Lebanon journalists 

New York, June 5, 2026 — The Committee to Protect Journalists rejects comments by Israel’s ambassador to France, Joshua Laurent Zarka, characterizing the October 13, 2023 Israeli strikes that killed Reuters video journalist Issam Abdallah and injured six other journalists a “mistake.” His remarks fail to justify why Israeli forces attacked a clearly identifiable group of journalists in southern Lebanon. 

On Thursday, in an interview with France 2, Ambassador Zarka claimed that the Israeli military believed the journalists were “terrorists,” despite extensive documentation that they were visibly marked as press, operating openly on a hill, and had been stationary at their location for an extended period while carrying out their reporting. The attack, which involved two strikes hitting the same location, killed Abdallah and wounded journalists from multiple international outlets. 

“The Israeli ambassador’s explanation fails to answer the central question in this apparent war crime: why did Israeli forces repeatedly strike a group of journalists who were plainly identifiable as members of the press,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “The journalists wore PRESS markings, remained in the same location for an extended period, and carried out their work in plain sight. Israeli authorities must release all evidence supporting their claim that Israeli soldiers misidentified the journalists and make public the full findings of their purported investigation.”

The double-tap Israeli attack in southern Lebanon on the group of seven journalists was the first instance CPJ documented of Israeli forces deliberately targeting journalists following the outbreak of war on October 7, 2023. Abdallah was killed in the attack and Agence France-Presse photojournalist Christina Assi was gravely wounded, resulting in the amputation of her right leg. Five other journalists were also wounded: Thaer Al-Sudani, Elie Brakhya, Dylan Collins, Carmen Joukhadar, and Maher Nazeh. 

In March 2024, an investigation by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon concluded that an Israeli tank targeted “clearly identifiable” journalists in violation of international law, according to Reuters’ review of the investigation, which has not been made public. Four additional investigations — by AFP, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Reuters — all independently arrived at the same conclusion: that Israel conducted an apparently deliberate attack on the journalists. A deliberate attack on civilians constitutes a war crime under international law.

To date, since October 2023, CPJ has determined that a total of 75 journalists and media workers were directly targeted and killed by Israeli forces, cases that CPJ classifies as murders.

“Acknowledging a ‘mistake’ is not a substitute for accountability,” said Qudah. “When journalists are killed or injured while carrying out their work, there must be a transparent, credible, and independent investigation capable of establishing the facts, identifying any failures in procedures or decision-making, and ensuring appropriate remedies.”