May 12, 2022 — A Palestinian-American Al Jazeera journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, was shot dead while covering an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin on Wednesday, Al Jazeera reported.
In a statement seen by Nyamilepedia, the Palestinian health ministry says she was shot in the head by a live bullet, and confirmed her death a minutes later.
Al Jazeera has accused Israeli security operatives of deliberately targeting and killing Abu Akleh and called on the international community to condemn and hold Israel accountable.
She was rushed to a hospital in Jenin in critical condition, where she was declared dead shortly after, at 7:15am (4:15 GMT), according to the ministry and Al Jazeera journalists.
Abu Akleh was wearing a press vest and was standing with other journalists when she was killed.
Another Al Jazeera journalist, Ali al-Samoudi, was also wounded by a bullet in the back at the scene. He is now in a stable condition.
Abu Akleh’s body was carried out of the university coated in a Palestinian flag, after which she will be taken to the Istishari Hospital in Ramallah.
Abu Akleh, who was a dual Palestinian-American national, was one of Al Jazeera’s first field correspondents, joining the network in 1997.
An official funeral will be held for her tomorrow morning at the Palestinian presidency headquarters in Ramallah.
The Israel Defense Forces said its security forces had been operating in the area “to arrest suspects in terrorist activities,” and both Palestinian suspects and Israeli troops were firing at the time.
Meanwhile, the European Union has called for a swift and independent probe over the death of Abu Akleh.
