Shireen Abu Akleh: The Extrajudicial Killing of a Journalist

<p>On 11 May 2022, Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh and a group of five other journalists arrived at Balat Al Shuhada’ street in Jenin to report on a raid on the nearby refugee camp by Israeli occupying forces (IOF). The journalists wore prominent ‘PRESS’ vests that identified them as such from both the front and back, and followed standard protocols for self-identification as they slowly approached the IOF along an unnamed street intersecting Balat Al Shuhada’. The IOF were in position approximately 200 metres south of the approaching journalists, in a convoy of five armoured vehicles parked along the same street.</p> <p>At 6:31AM, an IOF marksman fired the first burst of six bullets directly at the group of journalists from a sniper hole in the military vehicle at the front of the IOF convoy. One of the shots hit journalist Ali Al-Samoudi in the shoulder. Eight seconds later, as the journalists attempted to take cover, the IOF marksman fired a second burst consisting of a further seven distinct gunshots, once again targeting the journalists. One of those bullets hit Shireen Abu Akleh in the head, fatally wounding her. Two minutes later, an unarmed civilian, Sharif al-Azab, attempted to deliver first aid to Shireen, and he, too, was fired at with three distinct gunshots when he approached her.  </p> <p>We analysed and synchronised all available footage of the incident, some previously unseen, in order to construct a precise timeline of the incident and definitively demonstrate the origin of the shots fired and the clear intent behind them.</p>