Moment TV man 'filmed own death'

A NEWS cameraman in Gaza filmed the tank shot that killed him, it is feared.

Fadel Shana, a 23-year-old Palestinian, was covering Israeli tank movements in the territory yesterday for Reuters, the international news agency.

He had stepped from his car to focus on a tank dug in several hundred yards away.

Final footage recovered from Mr Shana's camera shows the muzzle flash of the tank opening fire. Dust rises around the tank then a moment later the tape goes blank – seemingly at the moment Mr Shana was hit.

Two youths passing by died in the same explosion, witnesses said, and others were injured.

Wafa Abu Mizyed, 25, a Reuters soundman, suffered a shrapnel wound and was being treated in a Gaza hospital.

There was some doubt, however, as to how Mr Shana died. People living nearby claimed he was hit in an Israeli airstrike.

The Israeli army declined to comment immediately on what caused Mr Shana's death. It expressed sorrow but also said journalists were risking their lives in areas of combat.

The Reuters car was an unarmoured sports-utility vehicle bearing prominent "TV" and "Press" markings.

The blast on a country back-road left the car shattered and burning. Mr Shana's body armour had been partially torn off. The injured Mr Mizyed had no recollection of the incident, which happened in good light at about 5pm.

An Israeli military spokeswoman, Major Avital Leibovich, said there had been clashes throughout the day 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 emphasised that the area in which the cameraman was hurt is an area in which ongoing fighting against armed, extreme and dangerous terrorist organisations 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."

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's spokesman said: "In our operations we try to be as surgical as possible and make every effort not to see innocent people caught up in the fighting."

David Schlesinger, Reuters editor-in-chief, called for an investigation: "This tragic incident shows the risks journalists take every day to report the news. All governments and organisations have a responsibility to take the utmost care to protect professionals trying to do their jobs," he said. "Our thoughts are with his family. We request an immediate investigation into the incident by the Israeli defence forces."

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, who was visiting Moscow, telephoned Reuters in Gaza to express his condolences.

Mr Shana, who was unmarried, had worked for Reuters in Gaza for more than three years. He was wounded in 2006 when an Israeli aircraft fired a missile at a Reuters vehicle. That car also carried markings showing it was operated by the media organisation.

The bureau was honoured by Britain's Royal Television Society for its coverage of last year's factional fighting in Gaza.

Hundreds of journalists and wellwishers flocked to the hospital where Mr Shana's body was taken. The family planned to hold a funeral today.

At least 20 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers also died yesterday in a sudden surge in violence that followed a relatively quiet month.

The death toll was the highest since a broad Israeli military offensive in early March that killed more than 120 Gazans, including dozens of civilians. Since then, Israel and Hamas appeared to be observing an informal and imperfect truce.

In the day's deadliest incident, an Israeli helicopter fired four missiles at targets near the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, witnesses said. At least 12 Palestinians, including five children aged 12-15, were killed.

The price of pursuing the story

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.

Over a thousand media personnel have been killed in war zones in the past ten years, says the International News Safety Institute.

One death which became the subject of controversy was that of Terry Lloyd, 50, an ITN journalist killed by American soldiers in southern Iraq in March 2003.

A coroner ruled the journalist had been "unlawfully killed".

It emerged Lloyd had been shot in the head while he was in a makeshift ambulance, having already been hurt in crossfire. His Iraqi interpreter also died.