Palestinian Arabs mourn Reuters cameraman as "shahid"

Today, Israel struck back at terrorists in Gaza after the fatal ambush this morning killing 3 IDF soldiers.

Some 18 were killed, including a Reuters cameraman named Fadil Shana'a (whose Arabic name autotranslates as "preferred hideous." )

The Palestinian Arab press is calling this journalist a "shahid". As Palestine Press Agency writes (autotranslated):

The Palestine Press News Agency's workers gave heartfelt condolences of the family of journalist preferred hideous, photographer for the Reuters news agency ..."[We] lost today a steady fighter was always designed to expose the crimes of occupation against the Palestinian people."

The Palestine Press News Agency sends condolences to the family of the martyr she prays to God that the soul of martyr and give his family patience and solace.

The circumstances of the death remain unclear. His fellow journalist claims that "There was nobody around us except a group of children who we were going to film. There were no resistance groups in the area," which seems unlikely that on a day with this much fighting that the "journalists" would be trying to videotape children away from the action.

But what is clear is that Palestinian Arabs know that Reuters is their best friend, and that Reuters journalists are more valuable to their cause than any number of terrorists.

UPDATE: Islamic Jihad eulogized him this way (autotranslated from Palestine Today):

As we bled to aspens eye martyr preferred hideous journalist, who has spent his life to the service of our people and expose the crimes of the enemy attacks and to renew the Covenant and with the Al-Bay `ah God that this blood is fuel Jerusalem crimes and the enemy will not pass without a painful punishment, God willing.

UPDATE 2: AP reports that the Reuters team was photographing Israeli tank movements, proving that Reuters journalists are simply liars.

UPDATE 3: Reuters released the video he was shooting at the moment he died. It looks like he was hit by an Israeli tank shell from a tank that he was filming. While it appears to be an accident, it also shows that Palestinian Arab "eyewitnesses" were wrong in calling it an airstrike. Also, Reuters' emphasis that the SUV was clearly marked "TV" doesn't apply as much to a tank shooting from a large distance which couldn't have seen it.

More updates here.