Who was Shireen Abu Akleh? Al Jazeera journalist killed by gunfire in West Bank

Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist, passed away on May 11 after she was shot in the head while covering an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin.

The Palestinian Health Ministry stated that she was struck with a live bullet and died shortly after. According to the ministry, Ali Al-Samudi, Abu Akleh's producer, was also injured and is in stable condition.

As per Times of Israel, the bullet was a 5.5645mm NATO cartridge used by Israeli and Palestinian forces in weapons such as M16 and M4 assault rifles.

Al Jazeera has accused Israeli security forces of targeting and murdering 51-year-old Shireen Abu Akleh, who happened to be one of the Arab world's most renowned journalists. The network urged the community to condemn the death and hold Israel responsible.

There is no clear indication of the circumstances surrounding her death. CNN reported that three eyewitnesses told them that Israeli soldiers shot the journalists and that there were no Palestinians nearby at the time.

Samudi, the producer who was injured, told the outlet:

"The Israeli army shot us. There was no Palestinian gunman in the place."

The Israeli Defense Troops stated that its security soldiers were in the area to arrest terrorist suspects. They claimed that both Palestinian 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 possibility that journalists were hit, possibly by Palestinian gunfire, is being investigated. The event is being examined."

---

All about Shireen Abu Akleh

Shireen Abu Akleh was a Palestinian journalist who worked for Al Jazeera's Arabic language unit. Abu's family members are Arab Christians from Bethlehem. Shireen's parents died when she was young, and she is now survived by her brother Tony Abu Akleh.

Shireen Abu Akleh attended high school in Beit Hanina before enrolling in architecture classes at Jordan University of Science and Technology. She then transferred to Jordan's Yarmouk University, from where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in print journalism. She returned to Palestine afterward.

Shireen had previously worked for the Voice of Palestine Radio and the Amman Satellite Channel. She worked with her current newspaper from 1997 and rose to prominence in 2000 due to her coverage of the second Palestinian Intifada. She covered the 2008, 2009, 2012, 2014, and 2021 Gaza conflicts.

According to reports, Shireen Abu Akleh's journalism has been disliked by individuals with vested interests in Israeli and Palestinian matters since she started reporting in 1997. She was well recognized in the region and was viewed as one of the network's preeminent talents.

IDF Chief of Staff Major General Aviv Kochavi appeared to moderate his stance in a subsequent statement, saying:

"Palestinians fired extensively at our forces, firing wildly and indiscriminately in every direction. Unlike the Palestinians, IDF soldiers carry out professional and selective firing ... at this stage it is not possible to determine from which shot she was hit."

Kochavi further stated that a special team will investigate the event.

The Israeli military has increased its operations in the West Bank following a spate of assaults against Israelis that killed 18 people. Several of the perpetrators were from Jenin.