Israeli shell killed Reuters cameraman-Gaza doctor

X-rays displayed by physicians who examined the body of Fadel Shana in Gaza's Shifa hospital showed several of the controversial weapons, known as flechettes, embedded in the 23-year-old Palestinian's chest and legs.    Â

Several of the 3 cm (1 inch)-long darts were also found in Shana's flak jacket, emblazoned with a florescent "Press" sign, and in his vehicle, an unarmored sport utility vehicle bearing "TV" and "Press" markings.

Shana was covering events in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip for Reuters on a day of intense violence when 16 other Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers were also killed.  Â

"The evidence from the medical examination underlines the importance of a swift, honest and impartial investigation by the Israel Defense Forces and by the government," said David Schlesinger, editor-in-chief of Reuters News. "The markings on Fadel Shana's vehicle showed clearly and unambiguously that he was a professional journalist doing his duty. We and the military must work together urgently to understand why this tragedy took place and how similar incidents can be avoided in the future," Schlesinger added.

Several hundred people, mainly local journalists, marched in Shana's funeral procession on Thursday. His body was draped in a Palestinian flag and his shattered camera and flak jacket were borne aloft on a separate stretcher.

Two youths passing by died in the same explosion that killed Shana, witnesses said. The cameraman had stepped from his car to film an Israeli tank dug in several hundred meters (yards) away.

Reuters’ soundman Wafa Abu Mizyed, 25, sustained a shrapnel wound in the incident. Dr. Yunes Ramadan Awadallah, one of the physicians who examined Shana's body, said he suffered multiple lacerations from projectiles, some of which appeared to have entered his chest through his neck and shoulder, severing his spinal cord.

Asked about the information that an Israeli flechette shell had killed Shana, an Israeli military spokeswoman said, "The Israel Defense Forces do not, as a rule, comment on the weapons they use. But its weapons are legal under international law. "Flechettes are legal under international law and a petition filed in the (Israeli) Supreme Court against their use was rejected," she added.

RULING

Rejecting a petition in 2003 by Israel's Physicians for Human Rights and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, the court said a 1980 U.N. convention on restricting the use of conventional weapons that cause excessive injury did not prohibit those with "sub-ammunition such as flechette shells".

Video from Shana's camera showed the tank opening fire. Two seconds after the shot raises dust around its gun, the tape goes blank -- seemingly at the moment Shana was hit. A frame-by-frame examination of the tape shows the shell exploding in the air and dark shapes shooting out from it.

"This tragic incident shows the risks journalists take every day to report the news. All governments and organizations have a responsibility to take the utmost care to protect professionals trying to do their jobs," Schlesinger said.

There was no word from the Israeli military on Thursday on whether it would launch an investigation. An Israeli military spokeswoman, Major Avital Leibovich, said there had been clashes in the area throughout Wednesday after the three Israeli troops had been killed there overnight.

A military official said, "We wish to express sorrow for the death of the Palestinian cameraman ... It should be emphasized that the area in which the cameraman was injured is an area in which ongoing fighting against armed, extreme and dangerous terrorist organizations occurs on a daily basis.  "The presence of media, photographers and other uninvolved individuals in areas of warfare is extremely dangerous and poses a threat to their lives."

Shana, who was unmarried, was a gentle and popular figure among the 15-strong Reuters news team in the Gaza Strip. The bureau was honored by Britain's Royal Television Society for its coverage of last year's factional fighting in Gaza.

Journalists have become casualties on numerous occasions in the Palestinian territories. Media watchdogs estimate that nine have been killed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip since 2000.

An Israeli soldier shot a Reuters photographer in the leg in Gaza in October. Two Reuters’ journalists were wounded by an Israeli tank shell in the enclave in 2003.

Also in 2003, one of the most widely renowned Palestinian journalists to work for Reuters, television cameraman Mazen Dana, was shot dead by a U.S. soldier in Baghdad. Six other Reuters’ journalists have been killed in that conflict.

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Photos: Reuters