On a quiet October morning in southern Lebanon in 2023, a tragedy unfolded that sent shockwaves through the international journalism community and reignited longstanding tensions in the region. Reuters videojournalist Issam Abdallah was killed, and six others, including AFP’s Dylan Collins and Christina Assi, were wounded when missiles struck their group near Alma Al-Shaab, close to the Israeli border. The attack, which occurred on October 13, 2023, left a burning car and a trail of devastation in its wake. For Assi, the consequences were especially dire—she would later have her right leg amputated due to her injuries, as reported by Reuters.
Fast forward to October 10, 2025, and the incident resurfaced in the international spotlight. Morris Tidball-Binz, the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, addressed a press conference in Beirut with a grave pronouncement. He described the attack as “a premeditated, targeted and double-tapped attack from the Israeli forces, a clear violation, in my opinion, of IHL (international humanitarian law), a war crime.” According to Reuters, Tidball-Binz’s remarks were unequivocal, casting the incident as not just a tragic mistake but a deliberate act that violated the laws of armed conflict.
The Israeli military, for its part, has consistently denied targeting journalists. In the aftermath of the strike, officials reiterated that they do not intentionally attack media personnel operating in conflict zones. This denial, however, stands in stark contrast to the findings and assertions made by the UN rapporteur and the accounts of those present during the attack.
The death of Issam Abdallah and the wounding of his colleagues were not isolated events in the fraught landscape of Lebanese-Israeli relations. The region has long been a flashpoint for violence, espionage, and political intrigue, and recent developments suggest the cycle of conflict is far from over.
On the same day as Tidball-Binz’s press conference, Lebanese authorities announced a major breakthrough in their ongoing struggle against foreign interference. According to Shafaq News, Lebanon’s General Security Directorate dismantled an espionage cell allegedly linked to Israel. The group was accused of orchestrating assassinations and plotting bomb attacks across the country. Security forces arrested several suspects, seizing vehicles, equipment, and documents that officials say provide damning evidence of the cell’s activities.
One of the detainees reportedly admitted that the group had assassinated members of Al-Jamaa Al-Islamiya, a Sunni Islamist organization. This revelation, as highlighted by Shafaq News, underscores the high stakes and deadly seriousness of the espionage war being waged just beneath the surface of everyday life in Lebanon.
This operation forms part of a broader counterintelligence campaign that has swept up more than 30 people accused of spying for Israel, marking Lebanon’s largest such effort in years. The arrests and seizures represent, for many Lebanese, a rare moment of agency in a conflict that often feels lopsided and externally driven.
The shadow war between Lebanon and Israel has not been confined to the world of spies and secret plots. Despite a ceasefire agreed upon on November 27, 2024, Israeli military operations have continued to affect Lebanese territory. According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Israeli strikes since the truce have killed at least 103 civilians, many of them in residential areas or near UN peacekeeping sites. Lebanon’s Health Ministry puts the toll even higher, reporting more than 280 dead and 625 wounded since the ceasefire, as detailed by Shafaq News.
The persistence of violence, even after formal agreements to halt hostilities, has left many Lebanese citizens feeling both vulnerable and angry. The continued loss of civilian life, particularly in areas that should be protected by international law, has fueled accusations that Israel is acting with impunity. The targeting of journalists, whether intentional or not, has become a symbol of the broader disregard for noncombatants in the ongoing conflict.
International humanitarian law, or IHL, is clear on the obligations of warring parties to protect civilians and those not taking part in hostilities, including journalists. The concept of a "double-tapped" attack—where an initial strike is followed by a second, often targeting those who come to help the wounded—has been widely condemned by human rights organizations as a particularly egregious violation. Tidball-Binz’s use of this term to describe the October 2023 incident lends weight to calls for accountability and justice.
For journalists working in the region, the risks have never been higher. The deaths and injuries sustained by Abdallah and his colleagues serve as a grim reminder of the perils faced by those who seek to bear witness in conflict zones. Their work is vital, not just for informing the world, but for holding power to account. Yet, as the events of October 13, 2023, demonstrate, the line between observer and target can be perilously thin.
The broader context of these incidents is a region where trust is in short supply and suspicion runs deep. The dismantling of the Israeli-linked espionage cell is seen by many as a necessary step to safeguard Lebanese sovereignty, but it also highlights the extent to which foreign actors continue to shape the country’s security landscape. The admission by a detainee that members of a Sunni Islamist group were assassinated by the cell adds another layer of complexity, raising questions about the motives and ultimate goals of those involved.
Meanwhile, the ongoing Israeli strikes—despite the ceasefire—have fueled a sense of injustice and helplessness among Lebanese civilians. The discrepancy between the UN’s civilian death toll and the figures provided by Lebanon’s Health Ministry speaks to the challenges of documenting and responding to violence in a war zone. What is clear, however, is that the human cost continues to mount.
As the international community grapples with how to respond, the voices of those directly affected by the violence—journalists, civilians, and security personnel—demand to be heard. The UN rapporteur’s characterization of the October 2023 attack as a war crime is a call to action, urging accountability and adherence to international norms. Whether or not this will lead to meaningful change remains to be seen.
For now, the story of Issam Abdallah and the ongoing struggle against foreign interference in Lebanon stands as a stark reminder of the dangers faced by those on the front lines of conflict—and of the urgent need for justice and protection in times of war.
