Reuters camera operator ‘killed by Israeli shell’
A PALESTINIAN cameraman killed on April 16 was hit by metal darts from a shell fired by an Israeli tank, according to Reuters, for whom he worked.
Thousands gathered for the funeral of Fadel Shana. Reuters called for a swift investigation and said that X-rays showed several inch-long darts, known as flechettes, embedded in Fadel Shana’s chest and legs as well as his flak jacket. His jacket was marked with a fluorescent PRESS sign and his car, which was not armoured, was marked Press and TV.
Flechettes are metal darts contained in some tank shells which explode above the ground and can cover a wide area. They have been used by the Israeli military in the past.
An Israeli military official said: “We wish to express sorrow for the death ... the area in which the cameraman was hurt is an area in which ongoing fighting against armed, extreme and dangerous terrorist organisations occurs on a daily basis. The presence of media ... in areas of warfare poses a threat to their lives.”
Fadel Shana died after a gun battle between Israeli forces and Hamas fighters near the Nahal Oz fuel terminal. Fourteen other Palestinian civilians were killed, including eight children, according to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.
Fadel Shana was filming the aftermath of the shooting. The last seconds of his footage show an Israeli tank on a hilltop. There was a flash and a cloud of smoke as the tank fired a shell. Moments later there was a second flash close to the camera, then the tape went black.
In February he had given an interview to al-Jazeera TV about his work. “It is impossible to stop me from working as a journalist,” he said. “I would either have to die or lose my legs.”
He was the ninth journalist killed in the West Bank and Gaza since 2000.