(BEIRUT) — Israeli police forces fired a stun grenade on Sunday at news reporter Hana Mahameed, striking her directly in the face and causing facial trauma, according to media reports.
Mahameed, who works for the Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen television network, was covering clashes between Arab residents and Israeli law enforcement from the Arab neighborhood of al-Issawiya when the attack happened.
Clashes occurred in response to the death of Palestinian teenager Fadi Alloun, who was shot dead by police after he stabbed an Israeli boy on Sunday.
Mahmeed was seen wearing a blue jacket with a signed marked “PRESS” attached to it. According to Ma’an News Agency, “In a video of the incident, the reporter suddenly stops talking during a live report and begins screaming after being hit in the face with a canister.”
Media reports said Mahameed was rushed to a local hospital where she was treated for injuries.
Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri told The Daily Mail, the police responded with ‘riot dispersal means’ and that ‘whoever is present with law-breaking rioters risks getting injured’.
But Mahameed claims Israeli forces aimed directly at her TV crew as they reported live on the neighborhood clashes.
Mahameed courageously returned to work the next day with bandages covering the parts of her face burned by a stun grenade.
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