Al Jazeera Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh Killed in Israeli Raid

Jerusalem: Palestinian-American Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was fatally shot while covering an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin on May 11.

The Palestinian health ministry said that was shot in the head by a live bullet on May 11 while covering Israeli raids in the city of Jenin and confirmed her death shortly afterwards. The ministry also added that Akleh's producer, Ali Al-Samudi, was also shot but he managed to survive and is now in a stable condition.

Abu Akleh can be seen wearing a blue flak jacket clearly marked with the word "PRESS" in the video footage of the incident.

51-year-old Abu Akleh was born in Jerusalem, she began working for Al Jazeera in 1997 and regularly reported from across the occupied Palestinian territories.

Al Jazeera has accused Israeli security forces of intentionally targeting and killing Abu Akleh and has called on the international community to condemn and hold Israel accountable for its heinous crimes.

Al-Samudi later revealed that there were no Palestinian gunmen in the area at the time.

"The Israeli army shot us. There was no Palestinian gunman in the place," Al-Samudi said.

The Israel Defense Forces said that its security forces had been operating in the area "to arrest suspects in terrorist activities," and both Palestinian suspects and Israeli forces were firing at the time.

"As part of the activity in the Jenin refugee camp, suspects fired heavily at the force and threw explosives. The force responded by firing. Hits were detected," the IDF said.

"The possibility that journalists were hit, possibly by Palestinian gunfire, is being investigated. The event is being examined," the IDF added.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military has intensified its operations in the West Bank following a series of attacks targeting Israelis.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, via a statement, shifted the blame towards the Palestinians and specifically pointed fingers toward armed Palestinians.

"According to the information we've gathered, it appears likely that armed Palestinians — who were indiscriminately firing at the time — were responsible for the unfortunate death of the journalist," the prime minister said in a statement on May 11.

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