Al Jazeera reporter killed in West Bank

On Wednesday morning, Shireen Abu Akleh, 51, went to the Jenin refugee camp to report on an Israeli military raid. Israeli gunfire wounded her producer in the back and hit her in the head. She was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly afterward. In a statement, Al-Jazeera called the shooting a deliberate attack. Israel’s government alleges she was caught in crossfire, but other witnesses said there was no gunfire at the time. Images showed Abu Akleh clearly identified with a bulletproof “PRESS” vest and helmet. The vest was laid on her flag-draped body and carried through downtown Ramallah for a vigil. Israel has called for an investigation.

Who was Shireen Abu Akleh? The Palestinian-American reporter joined Al-Jazeera in 1997, a year after it was established. She covered five wars in Gaza and became the face of the network’s Palestinian coverage. She was a Palestinian Christian from Jerusalem with dual U.S. citizenship. In an interview last year, Abu Akleh said she chose journalism to be close to people: “It might not be easy to change the reality, but at least I was able to communicate their voice to the world.”

Dig deeper: Listen to Mary Reichard interview a foreign policy analyst on Israel’s latest coalition government.