GAZA / JERUSALEM: Two journalists wounded when a Reuters vehicle is hit by missile strike in Gaza
Record ID:
783181
GAZA / JERUSALEM: Two journalists wounded when a Reuters vehicle is hit by missile strike in Gaza
- Title: GAZA / JERUSALEM: Two journalists wounded when a Reuters vehicle is hit by missile strike in Gaza
- Date: 28th August 2006
- Summary: (EU) TEL-AVIV, ISRAEL (AUGUST 27) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) NOA MEIR, ISRAELI ARMY SPOKESWOMAN, SAYING: "During the activity there was a suspicious vehicle which was spotted, driving around next to the forces. This was the only vehicle there and this was late last night after midnight so that's why it aroused the suspicious of the forces. The air force who saw the vehicle did not spot it as a TV vehicle, they spotted it as a suspicious vehicle and let me just add that ten minutes after the vehicle was targeted, three Hamas terrorists in the area, trying to shot an RPG (rocket propelled grenade) at the forces, were also targeted by the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces). This shows you that this is a combat zone. I can't emphasise enough that when in a combat zone there is a risk of getting hurt. Unfortunately this is part of the consequences. Journalists keep asking us time and again to be able to cover these sort of areas and this sort of combat zones like the one in Lebanon and like the one here in Gaza. Part of covering these areas is involved in risk taking and unfortunately, even though the claim is that vehicle was clearly marked, the IDF did not see such a mark. If the IDF would have seen that the car was clearly marked it would have not target it. We do not target journalists. Let me repeat that again - we do not target journalists."
- Embargoed: 12th September 2006 13:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: War / Fighting
- Reuters ID: LVADO08A0DRAAA6J24M5ZONQWAVF
- Story Text: An Israeli air strike hit a Reuters vehicle in Gaza City on Saturday (August 26), wounding two journalists as they covered a military incursion. One of the Palestinian journalists, who worked for a local media organisation, was seriously wounded.
A cameraman working for Reuters was knocked unconscious in the air strike, one of several in the area.
Commenting on the incident on Sunday (August 27) the Israeli army said the vehicle was hit because it was acting suspiciously in an area of combat and had not been identified as belonging to the media.
Army spokeswoman Captain Noa Meir said a suspicious vehicle had driven past the forces and had not been identified by the army as a press vehicle. She said the army regretted the incident.
"If the IDF would have seen that the car was clearly marked it would have not target it. We do not target journalists. Let me repeat that again - we do not target journalists," she said.
Reuters insists the armoured car was clearly labelled as a media vehicle, with signs on all sides, including the roof.
Matthew Tostevin, Reuters bureau chief for Israel and the Palestinian Territories, said he was deeply concerned at the attack on a clearly marked press vehicle as journalists were doing their job to report the story from Gaza. He described the incident was totally unacceptable.
"We are insisting that the army look into this properly to find out what happened to make sure nothing of this sort ever happens again," he added.
Both journalists were by the doors, covering an Israeli military incursion into the Shijaiya neighbourhood of Gaza City, known as a stronghold of militant groups.
Sabbah Hmaida, who works for a local news Web site, was seriously wounded in his legs.
Fadel Shana, a Reuters cameraman, received no major bodily wounds in the air strike, but was knocked unconscious. Doctors said his condition was not life threatening.
Blood spattered the seats of the armoured vehicle and the ground nearby.
Israel has often targeted Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip with air strikes during an uprising since 2000.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh condemned the attack. "This is the climax of Israeli crimes, to target journalists in this way and to bombard a vehicle that belongs to an international news agency. This is clearly a continuation of a policy of targeting Palestinian journalists, with the aim of burying the truce and preventing them from covering the Israeli crimes."
Shana described the incident from his hospital bed.
"..suddenly I saw fire and the doors around me blew open and then I found myself outside the my car on the ground. I don't remember exactly what happened," Shana said.
More than 180 Palestinians, about half of them militants, have been killed since Israel launched an offensive in June aimed at recovering a captured soldier and ending cross-border rocket fire. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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