Shireen Abu Akleh, 51, was a veteran journalist who began working for Al Jazeera in 1997.
Israeli forces have shot dead Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
She was hit by a live bullet on Wednesday while covering Israeli raids in the city of Jenin, according to the ministry and Al Jazeera journalists.
In video footage of the incident, Abu Akleh can be seen wearing a blue flak jacket clearly marked with the word “PRESS”.
Abu Akleh, 51, was born in Jerusalem. She began working for Al Jazeera in 1997 and regularly reported from across the occupied Palestinian territory.
Abu Akleh, 51, was killed by Israeli forces while reporting in the Jenin refugee camp. [Al Jazeera]Abu Akleh’s body is carried through a crowd of mourners in Jenin. [Mohamad Torokman/Reuters]Another Palestinian journalist, Ali Samoudi, was wounded in the back by Israeli fire but is in stable condition. [Majdi Mohammed/AP Photo]Mourners carry Abu Akleh’s body, on which is laid a Palestinian flag and a flak jacket marked ‘Press’. [Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP]Abu Akleh began working at Al Jazeera in 1997, a year after its launch. [Al Jazeera]She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in journalism and media from Al Yarmouk University in Jordan. [Al Jazeera]In a statement, Al Jazeera Media Network condemned the “blatant murder” that violates “international laws and norms”, and called Abu Akleh’s death a “heinous crime, through which it is intended to prevent the media from fulfilling its message”. [Al Jazeera]The Palestinian Authority denounced Abu Akleh’s killing as a “crime of execution”. [Al Jazeera]Abu Akleh’s funeral will likely take place on Thursday after an autopsy is carried out. [Al Jazeera]Walid al-Omari, Al Jazeera’s Palestine Bureau Chief, holds the flak jacket Abu Akleh was wearing when she was killed by Israeli army gunfire. [Mohamad Torokman/Reuters]
