A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli strike on south Lebanon has carried the Olympic torch in Paris to honour killed and injured journalists.
Christina Assi, of Agence France-Presse (AFP), was one of six journalists struck by Israeli shelling on 13 October while reporting on an exchange of fire along the border between Israeli troops and Hezbollah.
She was severely wounded and had part of her right leg amputated. The attack killed Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah.
AFP videographer Dylan Collins, who was also wounded in the Israeli attack, pushed Ms Assi’s wheelchair as she carried the torch across the Paris suburb of Vincennes on Sunday.
The torch relay, which started in May, is seeing 10,000 people from different walks of life carry the flame across France before the Olympics opening ceremony on 26 July.
“I wish Issam was here to see this. And I wish what happened today was not because we were struck by two rockets,” Ms Assi told The Associated Press.
“I wish I could have honoured journalists this way while walking and in my best health.”
Colleagues from AFP and hundreds of spectators cheered on Ms Assi and Mr Collins.
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AFP, Reuters and Al Jazeera accused Israel of targeting their journalists, who maintained they were positioned far from the clashes with vehicles clearly marked as press.
International human rights organisations, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, said the attack was a deliberate attack on civilians and should be investigated as a war crime.
The Israeli military at the time said that the incident was under review, maintaining that it did not target journalists.
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While holding the torch, Ms Assi said participating in the relay “is to send a message that journalists should be protected and be able to work without fearing that they could die at any moment”.
Ms Assi does not believe there will be retribution for the events of that October day, but hopes joining the Olympic torch relay can bring attention to the importance of protecting journalists.
“For me, justice comes the day I can stand up again, hold my camera and get back to work,” she said.
The watchdog group Committee to Protect Journalists said at least 108 journalists have been killed since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on 7 October, the majority in the Gaza Strip.
