U.S. Lawmakers: Israel Has Not Held Anyone Accountable for Attack that Killed Lebanese Journalist

SadaNews - Four U.S. lawmakers said on Thursday that Israel has not held anyone accountable for the attack carried out by the army in October 2023 against a group of journalists in Lebanon, which resulted in the death of a journalist from the Reuters agency and injuries to others.

Senator Peter Welch from Vermont, the home state of one of the journalists injured in the attack, accused Israel of failing to conduct a serious investigation into the incident, saying he had seen no evidence of such an investigation.

On October 13, 2023, an Israeli tank fired two shells while journalists were filming cross-border shelling.

The attack resulted in the death of Reuters television cameraman Issam Abdallah and severely injured AFP photographer Kristina Aasi.

The Israeli army says it does not target journalists, but has not provided an explanation for why the Israeli tank unit fired on the group of journalists.

At a press conference organized by two human rights groups, Welch, a Democrat, stated that he had not received any written evidence of an Israeli investigation into the attack, nor any evidence that Israeli officials spoke with the injured, witnesses, or the shooters, or any of the independent investigators.

In June 2025, the Israeli embassy informed Senator Welch's office that the Israeli army had conducted an investigation into the incident, and the result was that none of the soldiers acted contrary to the army's rules of engagement.

Welch, standing alongside Dylan Collins, an American journalist for AFP who was also injured in the attack, said that Israeli authorities "dodged" his calls for an investigation and gave him conflicting answers.

Welch did not provide further details on the matter.

He said, "The Israeli army has not made any effort at all to seriously investigate this incident." He added, "The Israeli army claimed it conducted an investigation, but there is absolutely no evidence of any investigation being conducted."

Welch stated that the Israeli government informed his office that the investigation was concluded, but separately told AFP that the investigation was still ongoing and no results had been reached yet.

Welch asked, "Which is true? Both cannot be true." In response to a question from Reuters about Welch's statements and whether the investigation has concluded, an Israeli army spokesperson said, "The incident is still under review," and did not provide further details.

Mark Laven, the regional director for North America at AFP, stated that they have been seeking full accountability for what happened for over two years.

Laven added, "AFP calls on Israeli authorities to disclose the results of any investigation and hold those responsible accountable."

Reuters has been calling since 2023 for the Israeli army to conduct a prompt, thorough, and transparent investigation into the raid that resulted in Abdallah’s death, and has not yet received any explanation from the Israeli army regarding the reasons for the strike.

U.S. Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen said at the press conference that more effort is needed.

He added, "We have not seen any accountability or justice in this case... This is part of a broader pattern of impunity, from attacks on Americans and journalists by the Israeli government."

U.S. Representative Becca Balint and independent U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, both from Vermont, stated that they would continue their efforts to seek justice for the journalists.

In August of this year, Israeli forces bombed Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, resulting in the deaths of at least 20 people, including journalists working for Reuters, Associated Press, Al Jazeera, and other media outlets.

An Israeli military official told Reuters at the time that the journalists from Reuters and Associated Press who were killed in the Israeli attack were not "the target of the strike."