Israel detains, releases US journalist for report on Iran missile attack

Israel authorities have reportedly released a US journalist after he was arrested for "endangering national security" according to Israeli media, following a report on where Iranian missiles had landed in Israel, during Tehran’s attack earlier this month.

Jeremy Loffredo, a 28-year-old independent journalist working for US outlet The Grayzone News, was reportedly detained alongside other journalists for four days earlier this week, and was assaulted in detention.

Despite an Israeli judge granting his release from police custody, Loffredo was ordered to remain in Israel until 20 October, his lawyer Lea Tsemel told The Intercept on Friday.

Loffredo will reportedly be subject to further interrogation and possible additional charges against him, Tsemel said.

The New York-based journalist said his phone was confiscated and police subsequently broke into his device during his interrogation.

The journalist was reportedly brought before a magistrates court in Jerusalem, where US embassy officials were present, Ynet said on Thursday. The US Embassy in Jerusalem told The New Arab on the matter that,"We have no higher priority than the safety and security of US citizens abroad.  We are aware of reports that a US citizen was arrested and has been released in Israel."

Loffredo reportedly travelled to the Negev (Naqab) Desert and other locations last week in a bid to report on the missiles that Iran had launched on Israel, which was a retaliatory attack for the assassination of Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

The missiles had reportedly hit Israel’s Nevatim and Tel Nof airbases, as well as the headquarters of Mossad and other military facilities.

The locations of Iran’s targets inside the country were also reported by several media outlets after the attack took place, further raising questions surrounding the credibility of the Israeli charges brought against Loffredo.

"He published the information openly and fully, without attempting to hide anything. If this information constitutes aiding the enemy, many other journalists in Israel, including Israeli reporters, should also be arrested," Tsemel said. "A spy would not have acted so publicly and transparently."

Other charges brought against him include "aiding the enemy during wartime" and "providing information to the enemy".

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned Loffredo’s initial arrest, and expressed concern over the detention of journalists by Israel.

"We remain deeply concerned by the continued detentions of dozens of journalists who remain in custody in the West Bank, alongside other measures taken by Israeli forces to restrict reporting on the war in Gaza over the past year. We call again for such practices to be immediately ceased. Journalists must be able to do their jobs reporting from the West Bank, from Gaza, and in the surrounding areas," the NGO told The New Arab.

Tim Dawson, from the International Federation of Journalists, told TNA that "journalists being arrested without good reason always undermines their ability to report and thereby threatens media freedom".

"We await more detailed information about this case, but have previously expressed the deepest concerns about the way that the IDF treats journalists," he added.

The years-long proxy war between Israel and Iran has increased dramatically amid Tel Aviv’s war on the Gaza Strip, ongoing since 7 October last year, as well as its aggression against and invasion of Lebanon.

Throughout the war in Gaza, Israel has repeatedly targeted journalists, especially Palestinian ones, having killed at least 130 since the start of its military onslaught.

Israeli airstrikes have killed several Iranian Guard Corps commanders since the start of the Gaza war  across several locations, including in Damascus in Syria. 

Iran is anticipating a retaliatory Israeli attack, rumoured to be on its oil facilities.