Lebanese Journalist Wounded in Israeli Strike Carries Olympic Torch

The torch relay, which began in May, is part of the celebrations leading up to the Olympic Games opening on July 26.

About 10,000 people from various walks of life were chosen to carry the flame across France.

Al Jazeera, AFP, and Reuters have condemned Israeli targeting of their journalists, stating their employees were far from the clashes with Hezbollah and their vehicles were clearly marked as press.

Rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say the Israeli attack was deliberate and should be investigated as a war crime.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, a media watchdog, reported on Friday that at least 108 journalists, most of them Palestinians, have been killed since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza.

"This is a chance to continue talking about justice, and the targeted attack on October 13 that needs to be investigated as a war crime," said Collins.

A Reuters investigation found that an Israeli tank killed Abdallah and wounded six others after firing two shells in quick succession while the journalists were filming the clashes.

Al Jazeera correspondent Ali Hashem, reporting from Alma ash-Shaab, Lebanon, at the time, said, "The tank shell hit them directly. It was horrible. The situation over there was – I can’t explain, I can’t describe it." He added that the team of reporters was clearly marked as press.

Holding the Olympic torch on Sunday, Christina Assi said her participation 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."

Assi expressed doubt about retribution for the events of that fateful October day but hoped her participation in the Olympic event would highlight the importance of protecting journalists.

"For me," she said, "justice comes the day I can stand up again, hold my camera, and get back to work."