American journalist injured in Israeli attack wants answers from Washington

American journalist injured in Israeli attack wants answers from Washington AFP camera operator Dylan Collins speaks on his mobile phone after being injured by Israeli shelling, at Alma al-Shaab border village with Israel, southern Lebanon, on Oct. 13, 2023. An Israeli shell landed in a gathering of international journalists covering clashes on the border in south Lebanon, killing one and leaving six others injured. Hassan Ammar/AP hide caption toggle caption Dylan Collins stood on an open hilltop in southern Lebanon videotaping a plume of smoke near the Israeli border. It was October 2023, less than a week after Hamas had launched a massive attack from Gaza into southern Israel. In solidarity with the Palestinian militants in Gaza, the Lebanese militia Hezbollah had started firing rockets into Israel from the north. Collins and six other journalists were monitoring military activity along the Lebanese-Israeli border. It was mostly quiet. "We're all wearing the flak jackets, the helmets," recalled Collins, 37, an American cameraman with the news agency, Agence France Presse (AFP). "It says 'PRESS' ... right across your chest." Collins had his live-video feed up and was texting a colleague when the first Israeli tank shell landed. "This big, big explosion hit," Collins recalled. "My colleague, Christina, was behind me and I just heard her voice, she was screaming." "What happened?" yelled Christina Assi, a Lebanese photo editor for AFP. " I can't feel my legs!" Shrapnel had shredded her right calf. Collins rushed over and slid a tourniquet up her leg to try to stop the bleeding. That's when the second tank round landed. A double-tap. "It hit the car belonging to Al Jazeera," Collins recalled. "The car exploded. It was probably six feet from me." An Al Jazeera car burns after it was hit by Israeli shelling in the Alma al-Shaab border village with Israel, southern Lebanon, on Oct. 13, 2023. Hassan Ammar/AP hide caption toggle caption Collins took shrapnel to his head, arms and torso. Assi lost her right leg below the knee. Issam Abdallah , a cameraman with Reuters, was killed. Collins lives in Lebanon, but calls Vermont home in the U.S. For the past two years, he's been pressing the Israeli and American governments for some accountability. Who in the Israeli military fired the tank rounds at a group of journalists? Why? The Israeli government told NPR that "the incident is still being examined," but Collins says Israeli officials have never contacted him. He has met with the State Department and the FBI to no avail. Earlier this month, Collins flew in from Lebanon to renew his demands at a press conference with members of Congress outside the U.S. Capitol. "As an American, I thought I'd find support," said Collins. "I thought my government would fight for me." There is no doubt where the tank rounds came from. The Committee to Protect Journalists notes that various international organizations - including , Amnesty International , Human Rights Watch and AFP - all concluded that Israel conducted a deliberate...

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