Among the dead was twenty-three-year-old Fadel Shana, a cameraman for the Reuters news agency. He was killed when an Israeli tank shell struck his clearly marked jeep. Shana was filming at the time of his death. Reuters released the video from his camera. It shows the shell being fired from a distance and then moments later the camera goes black. Reuters editor-in-chief David Schlesinger called Shana’s death tragic.
David Schlesinger: “What’s clear to me is that we need a thorough and immediate investigation by the Israeli Defense Forces into what happened. This is a tragic incident, one that really shows the risks that journalists take every day around the world. But all organizations, governments included, have an obligation to let professionals do their job without fear of death.”
Danny Seaman, an Israeli government spokesperson, said the shooting of the journalist was not intentional and that Israel should not be blamed for what happened.
Danny Seaman: “The tragic loss of life today of a Reuters photographer in Gaza is the direct result of the cynical behavior of the Hamas army. This army, which chooses to fire against Israeli civilians, also uses the Palestinian civilians as a shield.”