Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
clear sky
weather
OMAN
25°C / 25°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Al Jazeera journalist killed by Israelis

minus
plus

Veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh was shot dead by Israeli troops Wednesday as she covered a raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, an AFP photographer reported. Al Jazeera and the Palestinian health ministry confirmed the death of Abu Aqleh, 51, a prominent figure in the channel's Arabic news service.


No Image


The Israeli army confirmed that it had conducted an operation early Wednesday in Jenin refugee camp, a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups in the northern West Bank. It added that there was an exchange of fire between suspects and security forces and that it is investigating whether "journalists were wounded, possibly by Palestinian gunfire." Tensions have risen in recent months as Israel has grappled with a wave of attacks that killed at least 18 people since March 22, including an Arab-Israeli police officer and two Ukrainians.


The Israeli army has blamed some of the attacks on residents of Jenin and has stepped up operations in the area in recent weeks.


According to an AFP tally, 30 Palestinians and three Israeli Arabs have died during the same period, among them perpetrators of attacks and those killed by Israeli security forces in West Bank operations.


No Image


The circumstances surrounding the shooting of the journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, were not immediately clear. Al-Jazeera said she had been hit in the head by a bullet from Israeli forces. The Israeli military said on Twitter that it was investigating the possibility that journalists had been injured “possibly by Palestinian armed gunfire.”


Shireen, 51, a veteran journalist, was wearing a protective vest that identified her as a member of the news media, Al-Jazeera reported.


Another journalist, Ali al-Samodi, who was also wearing a protective vest, was injured by a bullet in the back, according to the official Palestinian news agency, which cited the health ministry. His condition was not immediately clear.


In the wake of a series of attacks by Palestinians in Israel, the Israeli military has been carrying regular raids into the Palestinian city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank since early April.


The Israeli military said on Twitter that its forces had been in Jenin to arrest suspects and came under fire first.


This article originally appeared in The New York Times.


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon