…Why the Christina Assi Press Freedom Award Matters for Journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists has named Lebanese photojournalist Christina Assi a recipient of its 2026 International Press Freedom Award, recognising her courage, advocacy for journalist safety and campaign for accountability three years after a strike in southern Lebanon killed her close friend, Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah, and left her without her right leg.
NEW YORK / BEIRUT — October 20, 2026 — The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is honouring Lebanese photojournalist Christina Assi with its 2026 International Press Freedom Award, recognising her resilience and sustained advocacy for justice following an attack that killed her close friend and colleague, Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah, and caused injuries that led to the amputation of her right leg.
The recognition comes as journalists and press freedom organisations mark three years since the October 13, 2023, strike on a group of seven clearly identifiable journalists reporting in Alma al-Shaab, near the Israel-Lebanon border in southern Lebanon.
The attack killed Abdallah and injured six other journalists, including Assi, who worked for Agence France-Presse (AFP). Independent investigations by AFP, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Reuters and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon concluded that the journalists were hit in an apparently deliberate attack. The findings have intensified calls for a full investigation and accountability.
For Christina Assi, the award recognises not only her survival and return to public advocacy, but also her determination to keep asking who ordered the strike and why those responsible have not been held accountable.
Christina Assi’s Press Freedom Award: Three Years of Demanding Justice
According to CPJ, Assi has worked as a photojournalist and photo editor for AFP in Cyprus since 2018. Her work documenting events and her subsequent campaign for justice have made her a prominent voice in calls to protect journalists reporting from conflict zones.
On October 13, 2023, Assi and six other journalists were reporting in southern Lebanon when two strikes hit their location. Abdallah was killed in the first strike, while Assi sustained catastrophic injuries that ultimately required the amputation of her right leg.
The incident became a major international press freedom case because the journalists were visibly identifiable as members of the media, according to investigations by several independent organisations. The circumstances have raised serious concerns about the protection of journalists under international humanitarian law.
CPJ has said that, nearly three years after the attack, no one has been held accountable. The organisation continues to demand that Israeli authorities identify those responsible and make the findings of their investigation public.
Christina Assi Press Freedom Award Highlights the Human Cost of Attacks on Journalists
The Christina Assi press freedom award comes against the backdrop of persistent international concern about the safety of journalists covering armed conflicts.
Assi’s injuries have permanently altered her life, but she has continued to advocate for accountability for Abdallah’s killing and for measures to protect media workers. CPJ also recognises her support for a rehabilitation programme serving people living with similarly life-changing injuries.
Her advocacy underscores an essential principle: journalists must be able to report from conflict zones without being treated as legitimate military targets simply because they document events.
The killing of Abdallah and the injuries sustained by the other journalists also highlight the consequences for news organisations, families and the public when journalists are attacked while gathering information.
The Christina Assi press freedom award therefore draws attention to both an individual’s struggle for justice and the broader responsibility to protect journalists and preserve the public’s access to reliable reporting.
Christina Assi Press Freedom Award Renews Questions About Accountability
One of the central questions surrounding the October 2023 attack remains unanswered publicly: who authorised the strike that killed Abdallah and severely injured Assi and what consequences, if any, will follow?
In June 2026, CPJ rejected comments by Israel’s ambassador to France, Joshua Zarka, who characterised the attack as a “mistake.” The organisation argued that this description did not explain why Israeli forces struck a group of journalists who were visibly marked as press and reporting openly from a stationary location. CPJ called on Israeli authorities to release evidence supporting their explanation and publish the full findings of their investigation.
In an AFP op-ed published on October 14, 2026, Assi again called for answers, urging the European Union to press Israel to establish who ordered the strike and identify those responsible. AFP reported that five independent investigations found no indication of fighters or military activity at the journalists’ location before the group was hit.
These findings and advocacy statements are significant, but the legal status of responsibility must be described precisely: investigations have concluded that the attack appeared deliberate, while questions about individual responsibility and accountability remain unresolved.
The Christina Assi press freedom award gives renewed international visibility to these outstanding questions and the demand for an investigation that is transparent, credible and capable of establishing responsibility.
Christina Assi Press Freedom Award and the Protection of Conflict Reporters
CPJ’s recognition forms part of its wider campaign to defend journalists against violence, imprisonment, intimidation and other attempts to prevent independent reporting.
The organisation’s 2026 International Press Freedom Awards will take place on November 19 in New York City. Now in its 36th year, the awards will recognise journalists from Lebanon, Eritrea, Hungary, Colombia and Myanmar, alongside a separate Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award recipient from El Salvador.
The awards highlight the risks journalists face in different political and security environments, including physical attacks, imprisonment, exile and surveillance.
For conflict reporters, the need for effective protection is particularly acute. News organisations depend on journalists working in dangerous locations to document military operations, civilian suffering and events that may otherwise remain unseen.
The Christina Assi press freedom award sends a message that the consequences of attacks on journalists should not disappear from public attention simply because time has passed.
A Personal Campaign That Has Become a Global Press Freedom Issue
For Assi, the campaign is deeply personal. Abdallah was not only a fellow journalist but also her best friend. His death and her own life-changing injuries have shaped her continued pursuit of justice.
In her recent commentary, Assi has stressed the importance of identifying those responsible rather than allowing the circumstances of the attack to remain unresolved. Her message reflects a wider concern among press freedom advocates that failing to investigate attacks on journalists can contribute to a climate of impunity.
The case also raises questions about how governments investigate incidents involving journalists, what information should be made public, and what mechanisms are available to pursue accountability when military forces are implicated.
CPJ continues to call for justice for the journalists targeted on October 13, 2023. The organisation argues that accountability is essential not only for the victims and their families but also for preventing future attacks against media workers.
As the world prepares for the November awards ceremony, Assi’s recognition serves as a reminder that press freedom requires more than celebrating courageous journalists. It also requires protecting them, investigating attacks against them and ensuring that credible evidence leads to accountability.
The message behind the Christina Assi press freedom award is clear: journalists who risk their lives to inform the public must not be forgotten when they become victims of violence.
