16 April 2008
Fadel Shana
Crossfire
Shana was covering events in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip for Reuters on a day of intense violence when 16 other Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers were also killed.
A medical examination showed that metal darts from an Israeli tank shell that explodes in the air caused the death of a Reuters cameraman killed in the Gaza Strip, doctors said. 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 florescent "Press" sign, and in his vehicle, an unarmored sport utility vehicle bearing "TV" and "Press" markings. Several hundred people, mainly local journalists, marched in Shana's funeral procession on Thursday. His body was draped in a Palestinian flag and his shattered camera and flak jacket were borne aloft on a separate stretcher.
