11 May 2022; MEMO: Israeli occupation forces shot dead Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh this morning during an invasion of the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said Abu Akleh was shot by a live bullet in the head and rushed to hospital where she was declared dead.
Another reporter, Ali Al-Samudi, was also shot by a live bullet in the back, the ministry said. He was reported to be in a stable condition.
Waleed Al-Omari, Al Jazeera's bureau chief in Ramallah, said: "It seems that she was shot by an Israeli sniper." He added that Abu Akleh had been standing in an area away from Palestinians who were protesting against Israel's deadly raid of Jenin.
Al-Omari's account negates Israel's claim that there had been gunfire in the area to which occupation forces responded.
"During the operation in Jenin refugee camp, suspects fired an enormous amount of gunfire at troops and hurled explosive devices. [Israeli] forces fired back. Hits were identified," the Israeli army said in a statement.
The army also said it was "looking into the possibility that journalists were injured, potentially by Palestinian gunfire."
A Palestinian paramedic denied the Israeli army's claims.
In a statement, Al Jazeera said Israeli occupation forces "assassinated in cold blood" its correspondent. This, it added, was "a blatant murder, violating international laws and norms."" Al Jazeera Media Network condemns this heinous crime, which intends to only prevent the media from conducting their duty."
