Gaza doctors: Israeli shell killed cameraman

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Metal darts from an Israeli tank shell that explodes in the air caused the death of a Reuters cameraman killed a day earlier in the Gaza Strip, doctors said Thursday, according to Reuters.

X-rays displayed by physicians who examined the body of Fadel Shana in Gaza's Shifa hospital showed several of the controversial weapons, known as flechettes, embedded in the 23-year-old Palestinian's chest and legs.

Several of the 3 cm (1 inch)-long darts were also found in Shana's flak jacket, emblazoned with a fluorescent "Press" sign, and in his vehicle, an unarmored sport utility vehicle bearing "TV" and "Press" markings.

"Fadel seemed to be saying a prayer. Those were his last words," said Reuters soundman Wafa Abu Mizyed, who was wounded in the wrist by one of the darts and began to recollect the incident only a day later.

Marches through Gaza City
The report came as thousands of Palestinians, including journalists and members of rival political movements, marched through the streets of Gaza City at Shana's funeral procession.

Shana, 23,was among 20 Palestinians killed in fighting Wednesday — the bloodiest day in Gaza in more than a month. Shana was struck, along with two bystanders, as he filmed Israeli tank movements off in the distance.

Shana’s body was wrapped in a bloodied Palestinian flag as fellow journalists marched alongside carrying his broken camera and bloodstained flak jacket. The marchers waved Palestinian flags and carried small posters of Shana posing with his camera.

“Fadal Shana, goodbye, the victim of the truth,” the posters said.

Later, the body was taken to Shana’s hometown of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. About 3,000 Palestinians attended the funeral. “Fadel, Fadel, loved by God,” the crowd chanted.

Young Palestinian men wailed in grief and a woman on a balcony screamed and banged her hands on the railing. Gunmen fired into the air and flags from the rival Fatah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements were seen.

'Impossible to stop me'
In an interview with al-Jazeera television in February, Shana spoke of his dedication to journalism, saying: "It is impossible to stop me from working as a journalist under any circumstances ... I would either have to die or lose my legs."

Slide show   Fighting intensifies View images of clashes between Israeli army forces and Hamas militants throughout Gaza. more photos

Abu Mizyed said Shana had stopped along a roadside and placed his camera on a tripod to film "wide shots" of an area near the scene of an Israeli air strike. An Israeli tank, he said, was about a half-mile away.

"We believe that an Israeli tank fired possibly two missiles that were full of small metal darts in the direction of the crew and the first of these killed Fadel and two other people and the second destroyed our car," Reuters bureau chief Alastair Macdonald told a news conference.

Macdonald said the Israeli army "told us that they can't confirm that a tank fired at that time, in that place."

"But they expressed their regrets. They have said that they do not target journalists and they have said that they hope to be able to cooperate with us in investigating the incident in the interest of improving security for journalists," he added.

Shana, who was unmarried, was a popular figure among the 15-strong Reuters news team in the Gaza Strip, the agency reported. The bureau was honored by Britain's Royal Television Society for its coverage of last year's factional fighting in Gaza.

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