TEHRAN— Early on Wednesday, Al-Jazeera reported on its Telegram channel that Israeli forces had attacked the Jenin camp and surrounded a house in al-Jabriyat neighborhood.

Al-Jazeera first reported in a breaking news item that its correspondent, Shirin Abu Akleh, had been shot by the Israeli army and wounded while covering the Israeli army's attack on the camp, but announced her martyrdom a few minutes later.

The seasoned Al-Jazeera journalist was martyred while wearing a press uniform and a helmet.

Initial reports said that the Israeli sniper manages to shoot her in the head, and the bullet hit the lower part of the reporter's ear, which was not covered by her helmet.

Eyewitnesses also said that the Israeli soldiers prevented an ambulance’s access to the crime scene. 

The move by Israeli forces, contrary to international law, was aimed at preventing the media from fulfilling their mission.

Local witnesses in Jenin said that the shooting at Shireen Abu Akleh was intentional.

In a statement, Al Jazeera said Abu Akleh was “assassinated in cold blood” and called on the international community to hold Israeli forces responsible.

In a video posted on social media, Abu Akleh’s colleague described the details of the tragic event. “At 6:30am, a vehicle carrying a group of journalists arrived at the first roundabout in the Jenin refugee camp.

They were there to cover an Israeli raid on the camp, and a number of Israeli snipers were stationed on rooftops

Shireen Abu Akleh got out of the vehicle, wearing a helmet and a flak jacket clearly marked with PRESS. An Israeli sniper shot her, hitting just below her ear. She fell near a wall, and the shooting continued, hindering other journalists from reaching her. Her colleague, Ali al-Samoudi, was also shot in the back,” he said.

He then added that they were both transferred to Ibn Sina hospital in Jenin, and her death was announced there.

“Don't believe the Israeli lies about ‘exchange of fire’. Don't fall for the vacuous wording of headlines.

This was targeted killing of a journalist by Israel, something which they have done with impunity time and time again. Its standard procedure for them at this point,” he noted. 

Later in the day, Al-Jazeera correspondent reported that the Israeli occupation police stormed the house of Abu Akleh in Jerusalem and is currently dispersing the gathering in its surroundings.

The scandalous crime of killing this veteran journalist committed by the Israeli military has provoked many reactions from Palestinian institutions, the Palestinian Authority, the media and legal institutions, and many countries, some of which are close allies of the regime. 

In a statement, the French Foreign Ministry said that the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh is very shocking.
“We condemn it and demand a transparent investigation into the circumstances of the killing,” it added.

The Palestinian Authority condemned the Israeli operation and blamed the Israeli government for the scandal.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh and Palestinian National Assembly Speaker Rouhi Fattouh condemned the move by Israeli forces and offered their condolences on the martyrdom of Abu Akleh.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also wrote that Israel's request for an investigation into the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh is a scandalous attempt to eliminate this crime.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Al-Jazeera, Human Rights Watch, the Iranian, Jordanian and Dutch foreign ministries, Hezbollah, the Iraqi Journalists' Union and the Al-Hashd al-Shabi Organization are among the other parties condemning Israel's brutal atrocity and expressed their condolences and demanded that the perpetrators of this crime be tried.

In an effort to disprove the truth, the Israeli army announced that it had made a proposal to the Palestinian Authority to conduct a joint investigation into how Al Jazeera correspondent was shot dead.

Israeli army spokesman Ran Kochav said Tel Aviv had made the offer to the Palestinians to jointly investigate the details of the killing of Abu Akleh in the Jenin camp on Wednesday morning.

Kochav claimed that, contrary to what the Arab media reported, initial estimates indicated that the journalist had been shot dead by Palestinian gunmen in the Jenin camp.

He also claimed that Israel had worked with the reporter for many years and that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) attached great importance to freedom of the press!

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett also claimed that according to available information, there was a high probability that Palestinian gunmen had killed the Al-Jazeera reporter in an indiscriminate shooting.

Also, in a tweet posted on Wednesday noon, Yair Lapid, Israel’s foreign minister said, “We have offered the Palestinians a joint pathological investigation into the sad death of journalist Shireen Abu Aqla. Journalists must be protected in conflict zones and we all have a responsibility to get to the truth. Israel's security forces will continue to operate wherever necessary to prevent terrorism and the murder of Israelis.”

This means only one thing: Israelis will keep killing press members, as well as ordinary citizens, including women and children. 

Among the many reactions to Israel’s brutal act, the deafening silence by the UAE and Saudi Arabian officials are noteworthy. The countries that have normalized ties with the Israeli regime are supporting this child-killing regime to go on with its aggressions against everyone who tries to reflect a true image of Israel’s atrocities.

Even the U.S. embassy in Quds called for a comprehensive investigation into the martyrdom and wounding of two Al Jazeera journalists in support of Israel's plan to conduct an investigation.

“We are saddened by the killing of the American-Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and we call for a thorough investigation into circumstances of her killing and injury of another journalist in Jenin,” the statement by the U.S. embassy said. 

Israel is more secluded than ever!