Thursday 26 / December / 2024
Jenin: According to the Qatar-based broadcaster, reporter Shireen Abu Akleh was shot while covering clashes in the city of Jenin in the West Bank.
A reporter for the Al Jazeera network died after being wounded while covering clashes in the West Bank, the broadcaster and Palestinian officials said Wednesday.
The broadcaster identified the reporter as Shireen Abu Akleh, 51, who was a prominent figure in Al Jazeera's Arabic news service.
"What we know for now is that the Palestinian Health Ministry has announced her death," Al Jazeera's Nida Ibrahim said in a statement posted to the broadcaster's website.
"As you can imagine, this is a shock to the journalists who have been working with her," Ibrahim added.
Israel offers joint investigation into death
The shooting reportedly took place during an army raid in the West Bank city of Jenin.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said Israel has "offered the Palestinians a joint pathological investigation into the sad death" of Abu Akleh.
"Journalists must be protected in conflict zones and we all have a responsibility to get to the truth," he added in a post on Twitter.
An Agence France-Presse (AFP) photographer, who was also at the scene, reported that she had been killed as a result of gunfire from Israeli forces.
In a statement, Israel's military said it carried out a counterterrorism operation at a refugee camp in Jenin on Wednesday morning in an effort to detain suspects accused of terrorist activities.
During the operation, Israel's armed forces said suspects fired upon Israeli soldiers, who responded with gunfire "and hits were identified."
An investigation is currently underway and is "looking into the possibility that journalists were hit by Palestinian gunmen," the statement added.
