A veteran photojournalist working for The Washington Post was hospitalised after Israeli settlers attacked her and a group of Palestinians during the annual olive harvest in the occupied West Bank.
Heidi Levine, who was reporting on assignment for the American newspaper, said the Palestinians accompanying her began retreating after seeing dozens of settlers charging towards them.
In a video statement, Levine recounted how she was kicked repeatedly while lying on the ground as the attackers stole and damaged her belongings.
“I had my camera bag and my pouch with my passport, and my telephone was on a rope around my neck and they broke that off me, and they broke my cameras off me, and they broke my bag, and they kept kicking me,” Levine said.
The veteran photojournalist estimated that the attack lasted about 10 minutes, describing the ordeal as chaotic and expressing shock at the lack of intervention.
“Just absolute craziness, and I didn’t see anybody trying to stop it,” she said.
Video footage of the incident showed a group of masked settlers, some armed with clubs, throwing stones at Palestinians, some of whom were also seen hurling stones.
In the background, at least five settlers surrounded Levine before throwing her to the ground and beating her as she covered her face with her hands.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Israeli forces had killed 241 journalists and media workers across Gaza and the wider region since October 7, 2023, as of September 24, 2026.
The figure included 189 Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza, alongside media workers killed in Lebanon, Yemen and Iran. The CPJ said Israeli forces were responsible for the vast majority of journalist and media worker deaths worldwide since 2023.
IOL