At least 63 journalists have been killed in the Middle East since Oct 7, media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said, adding that only 17 of these deaths fell under their definition.

Of the 17 journalists RSF counted as killed carrying out their profession in the Middle East since October 7, 13 were killed by Israeli fire in Gaza, three died in Lebanon and one was killed in Israel by Hamas.

RSF in November said it filed a complaint at the International Criminal Court for “war crimes” for these deaths.

AFP last week said its investigation showed that Israeli tank fire was responsible for killing Reuters cameraman Issam Abdallah on October 13 and wounding six others, including AFP photographer Christina Assi.

A spokesperson for the Israeli army said the journalists were in an “active combat zone” in southern Lebanon, an answer that Deloire called “not satisfactory”.