The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in over 120 countries, condemns the killing of Reuters cameraman Fadel Shana in Gaza.

According to information before IPI, Shana was killed by a tank shell on 16 April, near the Al Bureij refugee camp, just after he exited his vehicle to film an Israeli tank ‘dug in’ several hundred meters away. Video footage from Shana’s camera shows the tank opening fire; two seconds later, the footage goes blank. A frame-by-frame examination of the tape shows the shell exploding in the air and dark shapes shooting out from it. Shana’s colleague Wafa Abu Mizyed, a Reuters soundwoman, sustained a shrapnel wound.

A subsequent medical examination by the Shifa hospital in Gaza concluded that Shana was killed by metal darts from an Israeli tank shell that exploded in the air. Several darts were also found in Shana’s flack jacket, which was marked with a fluorescent ‘Press’ sign, and in his vehicle, which bore ‘TV’ and ‘Press’ markings.

An Israeli military official commented, “The presence of media, photographers and other uninvolved individuals in areas of warfare is extremely dangerous and poses a threat to their lives.”

According to the Geneva Conventions, journalists engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict are considered civilians, meaning that they enjoy general protection against dangers arising from military operations, which includes the right not to be the object of an attack.

IPI Director David Dadge commented, “IPI condemns this killing in the strongest possible terms and calls on the Israeli military to conduct an independent, timely and transparent investigation into the incident.” Dadge added, “We join the Foreign Press Association in expressing our ‘profound sadness’ at the killing of Fadel Shana.”