Woman Journalist shot dead in West Bank while covering Israeli military operation

In an unfortunate turn of events, Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist for Al Jazeera, was fatally shot on Wednesday while covering an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin.

Her death was confirmed shortly after, according to the Palestinian health ministry, who said she was shot in the head by a live bullet. Ali Al-Samudi, Akleh's producer, was also shot and is in stable condition, according to the ministry.

Her death occurred under mysterious circumstances.

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera, the international radio broadcaster of Qatar  has accused Israeli security forces of targeting and killing Abu Akleh on purpose, and has called on the international community to condemn Israel and hold it accountable.

Later on Wednesday, Al-Samudi said there were no Palestinian gunmen in the area at the time. "We were shot by the Israeli army," Al-Samudi said. "There were no Palestinian gunmen present."

The Israeli Defense Forces said its security forces were in the area "to arrest terrorist suspects," and that both Palestinians and Israeli forces were firing at the time.

"Suspects fired heavily at the force and threw explosives as part of the activity in the Jenin refugee camp. The force retaliated by opening fire. Hits were discovered "According to the IDF. "The possibility of journalists being hit by Palestinian gunfire is being looked into. The incident is being investigated."

Following a series of attacks targeting Israelis that left 18 people dead, the Israeli military has increased its operations in the West Bank. Several of the attackers were Jenin residents.

In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said it "appears likely" that armed Palestinians killed Abu Akleh.

"Based on the information we've gathered, it appears likely that armed Palestinians who were firing indiscriminately at the time were responsible for the unfortunate death of the journalist," Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in a statement on Wednesday.

According to reports, a  journalist covering Israel's operation in Jenin with the slain Al Jazeera correspondent on Wednesday told  that Abu Akleh and other journalists made themselves known to Israeli forces before being shot.

"I saw Shireen on the ground," Mujahed al-Saadi, a journalist, said. "We tried and failed to save Shireen."

"The occupation targeted Shireen while she was wearing a helmet; the injury was under her ear," he explained. "Shireen fell while wearing press (gear), and even with that, those attempting to save her were shot at; the targeting was clear against Shireen and against us as journalistic teams."