Israel occupation forces shot dead Al-Jazeera’s journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the occupied West Bank early on Wednesday.
She was hit by a live bullet while covering Israeli raids in the city of Jenin and was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, according to the ministry and Al Jazeera journalists.
She was pronounced martyred at the hospital, the Palestinian health ministry said.
The circumstances of her death were not clear, but videos of the incident show that Abu Akleh was shot in the head, said Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim.
“What we know for now is that the Palestinian Health Ministry has announced her death. Shireen Abu Akleh, was covering the events unfolding in Jenin, specifically an Israeli raid the city, which is north of the occupied West Bank, when she was hit by a bullet to the head,” Ibrahim said, speaking from the Palestinian city of Ramallah.
“As you can imagine, this is a shock to the journalists who have been working with her.”
Speaking through tears, Ibrahim said Abu Akleh was a “very well respected journalist” who has been working with Al Jazeera since the beginning of the second Palestinian Intifada in 2000.
Abu Akleh was wearing a press vest when she was killed.
Another Palestinian journalist was also shot by a live bullet in the back, the health ministry said. Ali Samoudi, who works for the Jerusalem-based Quds newspaper was reported in stable condition.
Al Jazeera’s bureau chief in Ramallah, Walid Al-Omary, said that there had been no shooting carried out by Palestinian gunmen, disputing an Israeli statement that referenced the possibility.
Source: Al-Jazeera
