A Year on, Palestinians Mourn Slain Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh

Pictures and other objects are displayed in memory of slain journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, in the room that used to be her office at the Al Jazeera news channel, in the West Bank city of Ramallah on May 9, 2023. (AFP)
Pictures and other objects are displayed in memory of slain journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, in the room that used to be her office at the Al Jazeera news channel, in the West Bank city of Ramallah on May 9, 2023. (AFP)
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A Year on, Palestinians Mourn Slain Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh

Pictures and other objects are displayed in memory of slain journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, in the room that used to be her office at the Al Jazeera news channel, in the West Bank city of Ramallah on May 9, 2023. (AFP)
Pictures and other objects are displayed in memory of slain journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, in the room that used to be her office at the Al Jazeera news channel, in the West Bank city of Ramallah on May 9, 2023. (AFP)

A year after an Israeli bullet killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, her West Bank office remains almost untouched, but mourners' flowers have piled up in an adjacent room.

The Ramallah street where the news bureau is located has been renamed after her, and a new museum will soon honor her work and that of other reporters covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Fellow journalists say they still have not accepted the loss of Abu Akleh, 51, whose many years of fearless reporting had made her a household name across the Arab world.

Camera operator Majdi Bannoura, who was with her the day she died, said "despite the passing of a year since her death, I still don't believe that she is gone.

"Sometimes I feel that I'm living in a dream."

Walid al-Omari, the Qatari news channel's bureau chief for Jerusalem and Ramallah, said "Shireen's colleagues and I are unable to separate anything from Shireen's influence.

"So, we have kept the office as it was," he added, his voice breaking.

Abu Akleh died on May 11, 2022, while covering an Israeli raid in the Jenin refugee camp in the north of the occupied West Bank.

The army would later admit one of its soldiers likely shot the reporter, who was wearing a helmet and a bulletproof vest marked "Press", having mistaken her for a militant.

Her killing prompted a global storm of outrage and calls for an international investigation.

The anger flared further when Israeli police attacked mourners and pallbearers at her funeral in east Jerusalem.

Large murals have since been painted in honor of the journalist, including on the concrete wall Israel has built as part of its separation barrier with the West Bank.

'Evade responsibility'

Al Jazeera took her case to the International Criminal Court in December.

"We continue to work and to press for the prosecutor and the court to act and take a stand on this case," Omari said.

The Committee to Protect Journalists this week noted the Israeli military had taken no accountability for the killings of at least 20 journalists -- 18 of whom were Palestinian -- in the past two decades.

"The killing of Shireen Abu Akleh and the failure of the military's investigative process to hold anyone accountable is not an isolated case," said CPJ director Robert Mahoney.

He charged that the system "seems fashioned to evade responsibility".

In response to the CPJ report, the Israeli army said it "regrets any harm to civilians during operational activity" and that it considers "the professional work of journalists to be of great importance".

It added that the Israeli army "does not intentionally target noncombatants, and live fire in combat is only used after all other options have been exhausted".

Rodney Dixon, a lawyer appointed by Al Jazeera to take up Abu Akleh's case, has argued there was an attempt by Israel "to completely cover up" the circumstances of her death.

He described Abu Akleh's killing as part of a "systematic and large-scale campaign" against Al Jazeera, noting Israel's bombing of the channel's office in Gaza in 2021.

'A huge void'

In the year since her death, Abu Akleh has been memorialized by Palestinians, and the road where the office is located is now named Shireen Abu Akleh Street.

The cornerstone of a Shireen Abu Akleh Museum for Media will be laid during a ceremony in Ramallah on Thursday, one of a string of commemorative events.

Her brother Anton Abu Akleh said his family were still waiting for justice, speaking at a cultural event on Wednesday in Ramallah.

"During this past year we have gone through several stages, experiences and challenges as we try to obtain Shireen's rights, and achieve justice for her," he told the audience.

Bureau chief Omari said his slain star reporter "was not just a great journalist for Al Jazeera.

"She was a team on her own. It has left a huge void."



100,000 Israelis Stranded Abroad, Authorities Warn They Should Not Return by Land

This picture shows the empty arrivals hall at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv on June 13, 2025, after Israel closed its airspace to takeoff and landing. (AFP)
This picture shows the empty arrivals hall at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv on June 13, 2025, after Israel closed its airspace to takeoff and landing. (AFP)
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100,000 Israelis Stranded Abroad, Authorities Warn They Should Not Return by Land

This picture shows the empty arrivals hall at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv on June 13, 2025, after Israel closed its airspace to takeoff and landing. (AFP)
This picture shows the empty arrivals hall at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv on June 13, 2025, after Israel closed its airspace to takeoff and landing. (AFP)

Around 100,000 Israelis remain stranded abroad as Israel’s airspace stayed closed amid its ongoing strikes on Iran. Authorities in Tel Aviv fear Iran or its proxies could target them, warning them against returning via Jordan or Egypt’s Sinai amid growing regional tensions.

On Sunday, Israel’s Airports Authority also warned citizens overseas not to travel to regional hubs such as Larnaca, Cyprus, or Athens, Greece, hoping to catch a flight home.

“There is no recommendation for Israelis abroad to travel to these destinations at this stage,” the authority said in a statement, Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Sunday.

Cyprus has stepped up security for Israeli tourists following concerns that Iran or its proxies could attempt to target them, the newspaper quoted Cypriot police as saying Sunday.

Authorities have increased police patrols near synagogues, Chabad centers, and hotels where Israelis are staying, particularly in the cities of Paphos and Larnaca.

Security measures were also boosted at the international airports in both cities and in crowded areas of Paphos, including the port, promenade, shopping districts and cafes.

“The heightened alert comes amid growing fears of Iranian retaliation following Israeli strikes on Iran last week,” the newspaper said.

In 2023, Israeli officials said they foiled at least two Iranian plots to attack Israeli targets on the island.

Thousands of Israelis have arrived in Cyprus in recent days from various locations abroad, seeking to stay as close to home as possible in case sea routes open to Israel.

Tour guide David Azriel, based in Cyprus, said he has received hundreds of requests for assistance from Israelis dealing with shortages of money, medication and accommodation.

“I estimate there are at least 30,000 Israelis on the island right now,” Azriel said. “The Cypriot authorities are on high alert and are doing everything they can to protect them.”

Meanwhile, Israel’s National Security Council issued a warning against attempts to return to Israel by land through Jordan or Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

“Sinai and Jordan are both under Level 4 travel warnings, indicating a high threat level,” the council said. “We strongly advise against traveling through these areas, particularly during this period of heightened tensions.”

Meanwhile, the Transportation and Foreign Ministries said that once security officials authorize the reopening of the skies, flight volume will be limited and delays of several days are expected as operations resume. Travelers were advised to monitor updates from official sources.

Yedioth Ahronoth said more than 100,000 are currently stranded overseas, while Israel's airspace remains shut to civilian flights until further notice.

Shmuel Zakai, head of Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority, told Israel’s Channel 12 on Saturday that it will take “weeks, not days” before all Israelis can be brought back.