Shireen Abu Akleh was a Palestinian-American journalist who worked as a reporter for the Arabic-language channel Al Jazeera. On the morning of 11 May 2022, according to witnesses and Al Jazeera, she was killed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) while covering an IDF raid in Jenin camp as a journalist. Al Jazeera said that Abu Akleh was shot in the head by the IDF. and transported to Ibn Sina Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Killing
At precisely 7:04 am on Wednesday, 11 May 2022, Al Jazeera, the organization in which she was employed, announced the injury of their correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh. She was shot by Israeli defence forces while covering their incursion and raid on Jenin camp. Shortly before the news was officially announced, it was preceded by a sympathetic report. «the martyrdom of colleague Shireen Abu Akleh by Israeli army gunfire».
Al Jazeera confirmed that Shireen was wearing a press vest at the time of the incident, yet she was targeted by the Israeli occupation army. Following the event, the Al Jazeera media network issued a statement stating, "In a tragic act of murder that violates international laws and norms, the Israeli occupation forces have assassinated Shireen." The network condemned this heinous crime, describing it as "atrocious." Later, it was affirmed that the Israeli occupation forces deliberately targeted the Al Jazeera crew, as they awaited the arrival of the media team in an open area. The forces began firing intensively, despite the fact that the location where the journalists were present had not witnessed any gunfire from Palestinians in that vicinity. Shatha also confirmed that the Israeli occupation forces prevented the arrival of ambulance vehicles to rescue Shireen Abu Akleh. Ali Samoudi, a journalist from Al Jazeera office who was accompanying Shireen at the moment of her assassination, was injured during the journalistic assassination operation. He, too, received a gunshot wound to his back from Israeli occupation soldiers. He confirmed that "Shireen was cold-bloodedly killed, and the Israeli forces continued to fire even after she was injured."
On the other hand, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Palestinian militants opened fire on Israeli soldiers, leading to the soldiers posteriorly returning fire. Nevertheless, multiple eyewitnesses reported that the area was calm before her death and they rejected the Israeli statements regarding her killing. Al Jazeera,. through Waleed Al-Omary, the director of the channel's office in Palestine and the occupied territories, stated that there was no gunfire from Palestinian militants. Al-Omary also confirmed that Abu Akleh was wearing a helmet and was injured in an exposed area below her ear, indicating that ''she was deliberately targeted''. The post-shooting video footage clearly showed that she was indeed wearing a blue press vest clearly marked with the word "Press."
Autopsy
The director of the Institute of Forensic Medicine at An-Najah National University, Ryan Al-Ali, announced the completion of the first stage of the autopsy on Abu Akleh's body. He confirmed that there is no evidence indicating that the gunfire was from a distance of less than a meter. He further stated that a deformed projectile was preserved for laboratory examination. Meanwhile, the director of the Forensic Medicine Institute in Nablus affirmed that the bullet that struck Shireen Abu Akleh was directly and fatally shot into her head. Hours after her assassination, Israeli police forcibly entered her residence in Jerusalem and dispersed the gathering in the vicinity, resorting to physical assault against the demonstrators.
Funeral
Shireen's body was transported to the Latin Church in Jenin for funeral prayers before being transferred from the Forensic Medicine Institute in Nablus to the city of Ramallah at 3:30 pm local time. The procession of mourners, along with the journalist's body, arrived at Al Jazeera's office in Ramallah in the West Bank after approximately an hour and a half. It was announced that her funeral ceremony would take place the following day, starting from the Palestinian Presidential Headquarters in Al-Bireh city.
At 10:00 am on Thursday, corresponding to the twelfth of May, an official procession was held to bid farewell and honor Shireen Abu Akleh at the Palestinian Presidency in Ramallah, in preparation for her transfer to Jerusalem. but the Israeli occupation authorities obstructed the funeral procession as it was heading toward Jerusalem. The body arrived after about two hours, and an official farewell ceremony took place despite the Israeli police besieging several mourners in front of the St. Joseph's Hospital, Jerusalem.
