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Reuters Report on Killing of Journalist in Lebanon Tells Only Half the Story
Members of Hezbollah carry the coffin of Hezbollah member Abbas Shuman, who was killed in southern Lebanon amidst tension between Israel and Hezbollah, during his funeral in Baalbek, Lebanon, Oct. 23, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Amr Alfiky
In journalism, every story must answer five fundamental questions known as the 5 W’s: “Who,” “What,” “When,” “Where,” and “Why” — with “How” usually added as number 6. These are the basic pillars that help build a reliable and coherent picture of reality.
Yet Reuters’ impressive investigative report into the killing of the agency’s journalist, Issam Abdallah, in south Lebanon last October focuses heavily on all these questions except for the “Why.” Thus, it omits crucial context from what is undoubtedly a tragic incident and frames the death as a deliberate Israeli action against reporters.
Forensic Expertise
Abdallah was killed while covering cross-border fire near the Israel-Lebanon border on October 13, several days after Lebanese terror group Hezbollah started launching rockets at Israel in solidarity with the deadly Hamas attack that sparked the Israel-Hamas war on October 7.
According to the IDF, which has repeatedly said that it does not deliberately target journalists, the incident has been under review since then.
But Abdallah’s colleagues, led by Reuters bureau chief for Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, Maya Gebeily, didn’t wait for any review. They apparently decided they were knowledgeable enough to collect all relevant forensic evidence from the scene in order to find the culprit.
Indeed, it is legitimate to cast doubt on these journalists’ forensic expertise (particularly if they had only 6-7 minutes to collect material from the site, as Gebeily later acknowledged), and on their objectivity as bereaved friends who had just lost their colleague. But it seems like they have made a serious effort.
They used every piece of shrapnel they could put their hands on, spoke to witnesses and experts, and even cross-referenced their data with audio recordings of the lethal strike caught on live television. All evidence was then transferred to a Dutch research organization for an independent analysis, Reuters said.
Omitting Hezbollah
Reuters’ investigative report from December 2023 covered the organization’s initial findings, and another report revealed its final results last week. In both cases, the conclusion was that Abdallah had been killed by Israeli tank fire.
While this may very well be true, it’s not the point.
The point is that amid all the painstaking details about the strike that killed Abdallah — the 120 mm rounds that came from “1.34 km away in Israel,” followed by “fire from 0.50 caliber rounds of the type used by the Browning machine guns that can be mounted on Israel’s Merkava tanks” — Reuters missed the forest for the trees, and minimized the reason Israel was firing across the border in the first place: Hezbollah.
In Reuters’ investigative report, detailed maps completely omit the terror group’s presence at the border area. They make it look like Israel was firing in a vacuum directly at the group of journalists that included Abdallah — and not, perhaps, towards Hezbollah rocket launchers.
Disturbingly, there is a caption that reads “hills” on the map, as if this is a more crucial detail to know rather than the presence of armed terrorists:
Shouldn’t such an investigative effort include some looking into Hezbollah’s positions around those hills?
This is particularly true because Reuters’ text does mention the IDF’s claim that there had been reports on a terrorist infiltration that day — so couldn’t Gebeily’s hard-working team make an effort to include some graphic expression of that on the map?
After all, a picture — or in this case a map — is worth a thousand words.
But words can also mislead, as they do in Reuters’ report on the Dutch organization’s final findings, which mentions Hezbollah only once — in the 8th paragraph, as part of the IDF response. It’s also mentioned only four times in the investigative piece.
For comparison sake, a Reuters special report on the killing of an agency’s photographer in Afghanistan in 2021 mentioned the Taliban 41 times.
And, unlike the report on Abdallah’s killing that ends with a condemnation from Reuters’ Editor-in-Chief and her call on Israel “to explain” what happened, the Afghanistan report does not include any condemnation nor a call to hold anyone responsible.
Again, it’s important to ask, “why?”
Why was Hezbollah omitted from the maps in Reuters’ investigative report and hardly mentioned in its coverage of the final findings?
Why was so much work invested in telling only half the story?
And why does Reuters seem to have different reporting standards when it comes to Israel?
HonestReporting is a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
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Brooklyn Nets Select Israeli Basketball Players Ben Saraf, Danny Wolf in NBA Draft
The opening tip between the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards, at Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York, Dec. 13, 2020. Photo: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect
In a landmark night for Israeli basketball, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf were selected in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets, marking the first time two Israeli players have been drafted in the same year.
Saraf, a 19-year-old guard known for his explosive athleticism and creative playmaking, was taken with the 26th pick. A standout with Maccabi Rishon LeZion and a rising star on Israel’s youth national teams, Saraf gained international attention with his electrifying scoring and commanding court presence.
With the 27th pick, the Nets selected 7-foot center Danny Wolf out of the University of Michigan. Wolf, who holds dual US-Israeli citizenship and represented Israel at the U-20 level, brings a versatile skill set, including sharp passing, perimeter shooting, and a strong feel for the game. After his name was called, Wolf grew emotional in an on-air interview, crediting his family for helping him reach the moment.
“I have the two greatest brothers in the world; I have an unbelievable sister who I love,” Wolf said. “They all helped me get to where I am today, and they’re going to help me get to where I am going to go in this league.”
The historic double-pick adds to the growing wave of Israeli presence on the NBA stage, led by Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, who just completed a breakout 2024–25 season. After being traded to Portland last summer, Avdija thrived as a starter, averaging 16.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. In March alone, he posted 23.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game, including two triple-doubles.
“I don’t think I’ve played like this before … I knew I had it in me. But I’m not really thinking about it. I’m just playing. I’m just free,” Avdija told reporters in March
With Saraf and Wolf joining Avdija, Israel’s basketball pipeline has reached unprecedented visibility. Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the moment “a national celebration for sports and youth,” and Israeli sports commentators widely hailed the night as “historic.”
Both Saraf and Wolf are expected to suit up for the Nets’ Summer League team in July. As the two rookies begin their NBA journey, they join a growing generation of Israeli athletes proving that their game belongs on basketball’s biggest stage.
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Iran Denies Any Meeting With US Next Week, Foreign Minister Says
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a press conference following a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. Photo: Tatyana Makeyeva/Pool via REUTERS
Iran currently has no plan to meet with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday in an interview on state TV, contradicting US President Donald Trump’s statement that Washington planned to have talks with Iran next week.
The Iranian foreign minister said Tehran was assessing whether talks with the US were in its interest, following five previous rounds of negotiations that were cut short by Israel and the US attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The US and Israel said the strikes were meant to curb Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons, while Iran says its nuclear program is solely geared toward civilian use.
Araqchi said the damages to nuclear sites “were not little” and that relevant authorities were figuring out the new realities of Iran’s nuclear program, which he said would inform Iran’s future diplomatic stance.
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Ireland Becomes First European Nation to Advance Ban on Trade With Israeli Settlements
A pro-Hamas demonstration in Ireland led by nationalist party Sinn Fein. Photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Ireland has become the first European nation to push forward legislation banning trade with Israeli communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem — an effort officials say is meant “to address the horrifying situation” in the Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday, Irish Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Harris announced that the legislation has already been approved by the government and will now move to the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade for pre-legislative scrutiny.
“Ireland is speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza,” Harris said during a press conference.
The Irish diplomat also told reporters he hopes the “real benefit” of the legislation will be to encourage other countries to follow suit, “because it is important that every country uses every lever at its disposal.”
Today Ireland becomes the first country in Europe to bring forward legislation to ban trade with the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Ireland is speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza.
Every country must pull every lever at its disposal. pic.twitter.com/Z4RTjqntEY— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) June 24, 2025
Joining a growing number of EU member states aiming to curb Israel’s defensive campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, Ireland’s decision comes after a 2024 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel’s presence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal.
The ICJ ruled that third countries must avoid trade or investment that supports “the illegal situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
Once implemented, the law will criminalize the importation of goods from Israeli settlements into Ireland, empowering customs officials to inspect, seize, and confiscate any such shipments.
“The situation in Palestine remains a matter of deep public concern,” Harris said. “I have made it consistently clear that this government will use all levers at its disposal to address the horrifying situation on the ground and to contribute to long-term efforts to achieve a sustainable peace on the basis of the two-state solution.”
“Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are illegal and threaten the viability of the two-state solution,” the Irish diplomat continued. “This is the longstanding position of the European Union and our international partners. Furthermore, this is the clear position under international law.”
Harris also urged the EU to comply with the ICJ’s ruling by taking a more decisive and “adequate response” regarding imports from Israeli settlements.
“This is an issue that I will continue to press at EU level, and I reiterated my call for concrete proposals from the European Commission at the Foreign Affairs Council this week,” he said.
Last week, Ireland and eight other EU member states — Finland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden — called on the European Commission to draft proposals for how EU countries can halt trade and imports with Israeli settlements, in line with obligations set out by the ICJ.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the latest move by European countries, calling it “shameful” and a misguided attempt to undermine Israel while it faces “existential” threats from Iran and its proxies, including Hamas.
“It is regrettable that even when Israel is fighting an existential threat which is in Europe’s vital interest — there are those who can’t resist their anti-Israeli obsession,” the top Israeli diplomat said in a post on X.
It is regrettable that even when Israel fighting an existential threat which is in Europe vital interest – there are those who can’t resist their anti-Israeli obsession.
Shameful! https://t.co/lxm9qm8sM1— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) June 19, 2025
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