“There is one thing that can be determined with certainty: no IDF soldier deliberately fired at a journalist. Aviv Kohavi, the IDF chief of the general staff, repeated Israel’s previous contention that it was investigating whether the bullet was fired by the IDF or a Palestinian gunman. The Palestinians continue to refuse the IDF’s offer to conduct a joint forensic examination of the bullet, with American representation.” Abu Akleh, and it is an important source for reaching an evidence-based conclusion. The bullet is vital to reaching a conclusion as to the source of the fire that killed Ms. The IDF, in written responses to questions and a summary of The Post’s findings, said it “will continue to responsibly investigate the incident, in order to get to the truth of this tragic event. Distant single gunshots are heard on occasion but there are no signs of a firefight. A live stream on TikTok filmed seven minutes before the shooting shows a relatively calm scene with people milling about. At least one soldier in the convoy was using a telescopic scope, the IDF said later in a news release. Based on video The Post filmed in Jenin, Abu Akleh and other journalists identified as press would likely have been visible from the IDF convoy’s position, which was roughly 182 meters (597 feet) away. The audio analyses of the gunfire that likely killed Abu Akleh point to one person shooting from an estimated distance that nearly matches the span between the journalists and the IDF convoy. The available video and audio evidence disputes IDF claims there was an exchange of fire in the minutes before Abu Akleh was killed and supports the accounts of multiple eyewitnesses interviewed by The Post, who said there was no firefight at the time. Israel’s military has not released any evidence showing the presence of a gunman. The Israel Defense Forces, or IDF, has said it is possible one of its soldiers fired the fatal shot, but claimed any gunfire was directed toward a Palestinian gunman who was standing between the Israeli soldiers and the journalists, and that the reporters might have been shot unintentionally. That review suggests an Israeli soldier in the convoy likely shot and killed Abu Akleh. The Washington Post examined more than five dozen videos, social media posts and photos of the event, conducted two physical inspections of the area and commissioned two independent acoustic analyses of the gunshots. The shots seemed to come from the military vehicles, Samoudi recalled. Another hit and ultimately killed Abu Akleh, as their colleagues scrambled for cover. “It was totally calm, there was no gunfire at all.” Suddenly, there was a barrage of bullets.
Then, the journalists headed up the street, toward the Israeli convoy. “We were very sure there were no armed Palestinians, and no exchange of fire or clashes with the Israelis,” said Samoudi. They paused for about five minutes in a location where they thought the Israeli convoy could identify them clearly as members of the press, Samoudi later said in an interview with The Washington Post. The journalists wore helmets and protective vests labeled “PRESS” in large white letters. Among the group was Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, a veteran correspondent for Al Jazeera who had covered countless similar operations in a career spanning decades, colleagues said. Less than 30 minutes later, the scene was quiet enough that Samoudi, along with three other journalists, felt safe inching toward a column of Israeli military vehicles that was involved in one of the early morning raids. “Heavy clashes,” could be heard, Samoudi said in the video, which was recorded shortly after 6 a.m. Sounds of gunshots rang out in the distance. “We are now at the doors of the Jenin refugee camp,” Ali al-Samoudi, an Al Jazeera news channel producer, said as he began a live stream on Facebook early on May 11, during an Israeli military operation in the camp.
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