Witnesses: 2 Israeli missiles hit Reuters car

[Poll_Blind]

From CNN:

GAZA CITY, Gaza (AP) -- Two missiles fired by Israeli aircraft early Sunday morning hit an armored car belonging to the Reuters news agency, moderately wounding two television cameramen and three bystanders, Palestinian witnesses and hospital officials said.

-snip-

The white sports utility vehicle was emblazoned with the Reuters logo and had "TV" written on it in English, Arabic and Hebrew, witnesses said.

-snip-

PB

[uppityperson]

1. don't bomb the media. Simple rule, why can't it be followed?

[sleipnir]

2. Because Israel is trying to scare them off.

It's much easier to commit atrocities and war crimes if the media isn't there to report it. Typical thug-on-the-block action from Israel.

[David Dunham]

3. Correct. If Israel wants to kill people and hide it, scare the press away

[Sherman A1]

6. Truth is the first casualty of any war

[Behind the Aegis]

9. Seems to be a "casualty" here too...well, at least facts are. n/t

[Sherman A1]

10. and those pesky little facts are????

[Behind the Aegis]

11. They would be...

...a van carrying reporters was hit during a missile attack.

What they would not be: Israel was aiming for al-Jazzera and missed, Israel was aiming from them, possibly because the reporters are Arabs,...the list goes on...just read the comments here and in the other thread. Posters are reacting to speculation and some are just making shit up as they go.

[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

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[Behind the Aegis]

18. I wasn't there...apparently you were?!

In a nighttime raid, I don't know what the visibility is like. But, I never said anything about it. It is a strawman of your own making.

When in a situation like Gaza, the press has to know that things like this may happen. If it was an intentional attack (meaning they knew it was press), I condemn that.

Also, isn't it interesting that so few are finding this event humorous. Perhaps if the Israelis would have just kidnapped them we'd have a huge thread of jokes and the like. :sarcasm:

BTW...brush up on the rules of this forum before posting.

[bluedog]

13. I think Israel will be brought up on war Crimes......

with this and with Lebanon bombing of civilians and cluster bombs........they should be........the US should butt out and sell no more weapons of any kind to Israel.

[Solo_in_MD]

17. Thats doubtful

For better or worse, I think any tribunal that actually gets a look a the detailed records from both sides will find the reasonable cause for the use of cluster munitions and targeting unknown vehicles that are following them during conducting military ops.

The IDF is not stupid, they understand the bad PR this sort of thing brings, but they place a higher values on the lives of their citizens than the bad PR.

We may not like their calculus, but it makes a fair amount of sense from their POV. All western nations do about the same.

[uppityperson]

I know, it was a rhetorical question.

The answer is obvious, if no media to report, nothing gets reported.

[Solo_in_MD]

16. The IDF has repeatedly claimed the Hamas/Fatah/Hezbollah etc

have used vehicles marked as Press/UN/Red Cross/Emergency to move people and weapons. Those logos alone will not protect a vehicle from the IDF, though it might give them pause.

I am not supporting the IDF claim, but its clearly what they believe.

[uppityperson]

19. I believe no one, or rather believe the worst, that they all lie.

Heard about the WMD's in Iraq? Hear tell some believe in those too.

[Solo_in_MD]

20. Its been an IDF postion for 20 years or more

And from time to time they have offered justification.

[Fredda Weinberg]

4. Israel warns civilians to stay away - is that why Reuters was there?

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/754955.html

[Deja Q]

5. Two things:

1. Don't advertise yourself as the media openly. Especially in 3 languages! Pretend you're medics instead.

2. It's an SUV. Maybe it was an eco-terrorist who launched the missiles? :shrug:

[rodeodance]

7. abc just said the 2 were seriously injured. they showed the car.

[xchrom]

8. control history -- hmmm -- hey israel and u.s. --

gettin hard to do that anymore, huh?

[cal04]

12. not been identified as belonging to the media

The Israeli army said the vehicle was hit because it was acting suspiciously in an area of combat and had not been identified as belonging to the media.

"During the operation, there was an aerial attack on a suspicious vehicle that drove in a suspicious manner right by the forces and in between the Palestinian militant posts," army spokeswoman Captain Noa Meir said.

"This car was not identified by the army as a press vehicle," she said. "If journalists were hurt, we regret it."

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=newsOne&storyID=2006-08-26T233234Z_01_L26776476_RTRUKOC_0_US-MIDEAST-EXPLOSION.xml&WTmodLoc=Home-C2-TopNews-newsOne-4

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Scurrilous]

21. The vehicle was clearly marked:

link to photos

[Englander]

22. What's that quote from Marx?

'Who you going to believe, me, or your lying eyes?'

A Palestinian looks at Reuters' armoured car after it was hit by an Israeli air strike in Gaza August 27, 2006. An Israeli air strike hit a Reuters vehicle in Gaza City on Saturday, wounding two journalists as they covered a military incursion, doctors and residents said. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA)

[Behind the Aegis]

23. How many languages do you see?