We write regarding the case of Dylan Collins, a U.S. citizen and journalist for Agence France-Presse (AFP) injured by Israeli tank fire on October 13, 2023. It has now been more than one year since Mr. Collins was injured in a targeted Israeli strike while on assignment for AFP. To date, Mr. Collins has received no explanation for the attack, and there have been no steps toward accountability. Given the inaction of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, the United States must open an independent investigation into this incident.
We previously wrote to the State Department regarding Mr. Collins’ case. On October 13th, Collins was part of a group of journalists covering the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. The group was clearly marked as press and had selected an open and highly visible position on a hilltop near the Blue Line to minimize the risk of misidentification. The group was clearly visible to several Israeli military positions, as well as to an Israeli Apache helicopter and drone circling overhead. There were no Hezbollah positions in the vicinity. The group had been filming from the position for close to an hour when, despite these precautions, they were struck twice by Israeli tank rounds, followed by a sustained burst of .50 caliber heavy machine gun fire. Issam Abdallah, a Reuters journalist, was killed and six other journalists (from Reuters, AFP, and Al Jazeera) were wounded, one severely. Collins was the only American involved in the incident. The first tank round largely missed him, but he sustained shrapnel wounds to his face, arms, and back when a second tank round hit as he was applying a tourniquet to his colleague’s leg (despite Mr. Collins’ efforts, Ms. Assi lost her leg in the attack).