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Tel Aviv - The Israeli military expressed regret Wednesday for the killing of a Palestinian journalist in Israeli shelling in the central Gaza Strip. Fadal Shanaa, a cameraman for the Reuters news agency, was fatally injured while covering Israeli military operations against Palestinian militants near al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. "We express regret for the death of the Palestinian cameraman," an Israeli military official said. "At the same time, one must remember that we are talking about an area in which daily fighting takes place opposite radical, armed and dangerous terrorist groups and this fact poses a potential risk for media personnel and other uninvolved elements." The Foreign Press Association (FPA) representing journalists working for foreign media in Israel and the Palestinian autonomous areas also issued a statement expressing "profound sadness." "His death is a stark reminder of the risks our Palestinian colleagues take every day to cover the news in Gaza. We urge both the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) and all armed factions in the area to do everything in their power to preserve the safety of journalists," the statement said. The Palestinian Ma'an news agency quoted a witness, journalist Yassir Qadih, as saying that "Shana'a was killed while he was in a jeep which was clearly marked 'Press'." Television footage showed the jeep, with large signs reading "Press" and "TV" with a large hole blown in the driver's side. |