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Monday, October 27, 2025
US officer who probed Shireen Abu Akleh’s shooting says he’s certain she was targeted
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A retired officer in the US military who investigated the 2022 killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the West Bank tells The New York Times he is certain an Israeli soldier intentionally shot her.
The 51-year-old Palestinian-American reporter was killed while covering clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen in the Jenin refugee camp on May 11, 2022. She was wearing a vest marked “Press” and a helmet at the time.
The IDF initially blamed Palestinian gunmen but following a probe it later acknowledged that she was very likely shot by a soldier who “misidentified” her.
Col. Steve Gabavics says he believes the soldier targeted Abu Akleh and claims the US government softened its own findings despite clear evidence she was deliberately shot. He says that when the American conclusions came out that did not find the shooting intentional, he and other colleagues “were just flabbergasted that this is what they put out.”
Col. Gabavics says radio recordings showed Israeli soldiers knew journalists were present and had faced no gunfire from their direction. He says his investigation showed that from the location of the military vehicle, a sniper would have clearly seen the reporters with their “Press” identification. He also says the precise, sequential shots that killed Abu Akleh and hit those around her did not allow for an accidental shooting.
The report notes that investigators were deeply divided about the findings, and that others supported the overall conclusion that there was no proof the shooting ws deliberate. Gabavics’ superior at the time, Lieutenant General Michael Fenzel, insists that there was insufficient evidence to prove an intentional attack.
“Ultimately, I had to make judgments based on the full set of facts and information available to me,” Fenzel tells The Times. “I stand by the integrity of our work and remain confident that we reached the right conclusions.”
A documentary aired earlier this year by Zeteo News, a left-wing news outlet founded by Israel critic Mehdi Hassan, identified Cpt. Alon Scagio, then a 20-year-old sharpshooter in the Duvdevan commando unit, as being behind the deadly shooting. Scagio was killed by a roadside bomb in Jenin last year at the age of 22.
The Times of Israel Community.