CNN‘s Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward narrowly avoided a “massive barrage of rockets” while reporting from the Israel-Gaza border. The British-American journalist, who is covering the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas militants, was forced to take cover in a ditch when she went on the air.
After rushing to a roadside ditch with the rest of her team, Ward — who was lying on her side — understandably dropped several F-bombs under her breath as the sound of rockets filled the background.
“Forgive me. I have a slightly inelegant position but we just had a massive barrage of rockets coming in here not too far from us so we have had to take shelter here by the roadside,” she explained to the camera. “We’re just about five minutes away.”
Ward continued, “We can hear now a lot of jets in the sky. We can also hear the Iron Dome intercepting a number of those rockets as they were whizzing overhead and making impact in that direction not too far from here.”
The terrifying moment came days after Hamas militants made an unprecedented attack on Israel, who officially declared war in response. According to Ward, the CNN team was in this specific location because it was “Ground Zero for this entire operation of carnage.”
“Hamas militants came on a pickup trick,” she said. “This is the first place where they breached that border wall and they basically drove down this strip just spraying lead wherever they went.”
The harrowing footage is now going viral on social media — and many users are applauding the journalist for her bravery.
“Clarissa Ward is an amazing brave, intelligent, fearless journalist covering Gaza-Israel conflict,” one wrote, while another added, “Damn. I was all tensed up and even almost shaking a little bit just WATCHING THAT! That is one BRAVE woman dedicated to doing her job! Wow!”
A third person said, “As much as people attack the mainstream media in this country, there are so many journalists who put their lives on the line to report accurate information to the American people. Thank you Clarissa and CNN’s team.”
“Kudos to @clarissaward and her fearless reporting,” someone else noted. “Her depth of knowledge and insightful reporting, is testament to her fearless professionalism under fire.”
They continued, “Much criticism is aimed at CNN at times and I’m guilty of engaging in it too, but when it comes to covering conflict nobody does it better. We owe a debt to all reporters and their support teams for the risks they take to bring us the unvarnished truth that conflict is brutal.”