On 11 May 2022, Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist working for Al Jazeera, was killed by a shot to the head while covering an Israeli military operation in Jenin, in the West Bank. Known as the ‘voice of Palestine’, she was wearing a bulletproof vest with the word ‘PRESS’ clearly visible.
Three years later, new investigations and testimonies reinforce the hypothesis that she was deliberately targeted by an Israeli sniper. A US documentary entitled ‘Who Killed Shireen?’, produced by Zeteo, identifies a soldier from the elite Duvdevan unit as the alleged perpetrator of her death. According to the documentary, the soldier was subsequently promoted and died in 2024.
A joint investigation by Forensic Architecture and Al-Haq analysed the angle of fire and the trajectory of the bullet, concluding that the sniper had a clear view of the journalists and that there were no armed clashes in the immediate vicinity at the time of the attack. The report highlights that the sniper fired several times, including at those trying to rescue Abu Akleh.
The New York Times and the United Nations joined the investigation and both found evidence that the shots that killed Abu Akleh and wounded her colleague Ali Sammoudi were fired by Israeli security forces and not by indiscriminate fire from armed Palestinians.
Despite this evidence, according to the final conclusions of the investigation conducted by the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces), it is not possible to unequivocally determine the origin of the shot that killed Shireen Abu Akleh; there is a ‘high probability’ that the journalist was accidentally hit by Israeli fire, but the possibility that the bullet may have come from Palestinian militants in the area is also mentioned.
The journalist’s funeral in Jerusalem was marked by serious violence by Israeli police, sparking international outrage. Her brother Antony denounced the lack of an impartial investigation by Israel and placed his hopes in the US investigation. Shireen is remembered as a woman of faith, loved by the Palestinian people and her family.
Abu Akleh’s family and human rights organisations continue to demand justice and accountability for her death and have announced their intention to bring the case before the International Criminal Court.
The tragic death of Shireen Abu Akleh remains a symbol of the challenges and dangers faced by journalists working in conflict zones, and raises important questions about the protection of the press and the accountability of the armed forces in military operations.
