Will Israeli correspondent Amit Segal face jail time over reporting second missing US crew member?

Initial U.S. statements confirmed the recovery of one pilot but did not immediately reference another crew member.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Questions are emerging over whether Israeli correspondent Amit Segal is among several journalists who could potentially face legal action after reporting that a second American crew member was missing following the downing of an F-15 fighter jet over Iran, an issue that has drawn attention amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to jail the “leaker.”

The controversy centers on early disclosures about the incident.

Initial U.S. statements confirmed the recovery of one pilot but did not immediately reference another crew member.

Reports that a second airman was unaccounted for surfaced shortly afterward, increasing scrutiny over the release of operational details during the ongoing conflict.

Israel’s Channel 12 was credited by Military Times with being the first to report that a second American pilot was missing in a broadcast. T

The New York Post was unable to find a clip from the live broadcast, but Channel 12 reporters Amit Segal and Barak Ravid — who also works for Axios — were among the earliest to post the information to Telegram and X, respectively.

“An American fighter jet was shot down by Iranian fire. A search is underway to locate the two crew members, according to a source familiar with the details. Read my article at @axios,” Ravid wrote at 8:54 a.m. EST on Friday.

Segal later acknowledged in comments to the New York Post on Monday that he had reported the information early, though he said he was unsure whether he had been the first to do so. He added, “I will protect my sources.”

Trump said Monday he would demand that the journalist who first reported that an airman in Iran had been rescued reveal how they got that information and threatened to jail them if they refused.

Newsweek noted that it remains unclear how U.S. authorities could prosecute an Israeli citizen or compel an Israeli news outlet to reveal its sources.