Journalist injured in Israeli attack in Lebanon carries Olympic torch to France | World news

A Lebanese photojournalist who was seriously injured in an Israeli attack on southern Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris to honor killed and injured journalists.

Christina Assi of Agence France-Presse (AFP) was one of six journalists hit by Israeli artillery fire on October 13 while covering an exchange of fire along the border between Israeli troops and Hezbollah.

She was seriously injured and had to have part of her right leg amputated. The attack killed Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah.

AFP videographer Dylan Collins, who was also injured in the Israeli attack, pushed Ms Assi’s wheelchair as she carried the torch through the Paris suburb of Vincennes on Sunday.

The torch relay, which began in May, sees 10,000 people from all walks of life carry the flame across France before the Olympics Opening ceremony on July 26th.

“I wish Issam could see this. And I wish what happened today was not because we were hit by two rockets,” Ms. Assi told the Associated Press.

“I wish I could have honored journalists in this way while I was walking and in good health.”

AFP colleagues and hundreds of spectators cheered on Ms Assi and Mr Collins.

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AFP, Reuters and Al Jazeera accused Israel of targeting their journalists who insisted on staying far away from the clashes and owning vehicles clearly marked as press vehicles.

The international human rights organizations Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said the attack was a deliberate attack on civilians and must be investigated as a war crime.

The Israeli military said at the time that the incident was being investigated, but insisted that the incident was not directed against journalists.

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Holding the torch, Ms Assi said participating in the relay was to “send a message that journalists should be protected and be able to work without fear of dying at any moment”.

Ms Assi does not believe there will be retribution for the events of that October day, but hopes her participation in the Olympic torch relay can draw attention to the importance of protecting journalists.

“For me, justice will come when I can get up, hold my camera and go back to work,” she said.

According to the monitoring group Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 108 journalists have been killed since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, the majority of them in the Gaza Strip.