New Delhi: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has investigated the incident at the Israel-Lebanon border on October 13 that killed Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah and severely injured Agence France-Press correspondent Christina Assi, and found that their vehicle was deliberately targeted despite being marked 'Press'.

Soon after the incident, when various parties held the Israeli army responsible, it said it was "sorry" and "looking into it".

Two strikes hit the spot in question – one which killed Abdallah and severely injured Assi, and another which blew up an Al Jazeera vehicle and injured several.

"On Friday 13 October, at around 6.00 pm, two strikes of different intensity, 37 to 38 seconds apart, hit the spot where a group of seven journalists had been for more than an hour. The first killed Reuters photojournalist Issam Abdallah, according to his colleagues who were with him," RSF has found.

"The second, more powerful strike, with a payload of more than 3 kg TNT equivalent according to RSF's ballistic expertise, ignited the Al Jazeera vehicle, a white Toyota, next to which the reporter was standing, injuring Al Jazeera journalists Carmen Joukhadar and Elie Brakhya, as well as their AFP colleague Dylan Collins. The strike displaced the vehicle by around 90 degrees from its original position," the report continues.

Significantly, RSF says it has determined that the shots came from the direction of the Israeli border.

"Two strikes in the same place in such a short space of time (just over 30 seconds), from the same direction, clearly indicate precise targeting," RSF noted. The group added that it is unlikely the journalists were mistaken for combatants, as "they were not hiding: in order to have a clear field of vision, they had been in the open for more than an hour, on the top of a hill. They were wearing helmets and bullet-proof waistcoats marked "press". Their car was also identified as "press" thanks to a marking on the roof, according to witnesses."

Even before the attack, the RSF notes, an Israeli helicopter had flown over the vicinity and so knew that journalists were stationed there.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 29 journalists have lost their lives in the Israel-Palestine violence so far. Of those killed, 24 are Palestinian, four Israeli and one Lebanese.

In a statement released after the RSF made its findings public, Reuters said, "We are reviewing the preliminary conclusion reached by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which found that Issam Abdallah and other journalists in Alma el-Chaab appear to have been deliberately fired upon from the direction of Israel on 13 October.

"We reiterate our call to the Israeli authorities to conduct a swift, thorough and transparent probe into what happened. And we call upon all other authorities with information about the incident to provide it. We will continue to fight for the rights of all journalists to report the news in the public interest free of harassment or harm, wherever they are."

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