Palestinians Reject to Hand Over Bullet that Killed Abu Akleh, Blame Israel

Children visit the site where veteran Al-Jazeera Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead while covering an Israeli army raid in the occupied West Bank, in Jenin on May 12, 2022. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
Children visit the site where veteran Al-Jazeera Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead while covering an Israeli army raid in the occupied West Bank, in Jenin on May 12, 2022. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
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Palestinians Reject to Hand Over Bullet that Killed Abu Akleh, Blame Israel

Children visit the site where veteran Al-Jazeera Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead while covering an Israeli army raid in the occupied West Bank, in Jenin on May 12, 2022. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
Children visit the site where veteran Al-Jazeera Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead while covering an Israeli army raid in the occupied West Bank, in Jenin on May 12, 2022. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)

The Palestinian Authority on Thursday rejected an Israeli request to hold a joint investigation into the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, saying it would not hand over the bullet that killed her for ballistic analysis.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that the Israeli authorities are "fully responsible" for the killing.

"We rejected the joint investigation with the Israeli occupation authorities because they committed the crime and because we don't trust them," said Abbas during an official memorial ceremony for Abu Akleh in Ramallah.

He added that the Palestinian Authority "will go immediately to the International Criminal Court in order to track down the criminals".

Hussein Al Sheikh, a senior aide to Abbas, earlier said that the Palestinians would conduct their own independent probe and that all parties would be informed of "the results of the investigation with high transparency.”

Abu Akleh, a veteran Palestinian-American journalist, was shot and killed on Wednesday while covering an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank. The broadcaster and two reporters who were with her blamed Israeli forces.

Israeli officials initially suggested that Abu Akleh may have been killed by militant fire, but walked that back somewhat later in the day, saying there were no “final conclusions.”

Her death was met by an outpouring of grief across the West Bank. Her body was to be taken to the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah on Thursday before being brought to Jerusalem for burial on Friday.

The killing sparked condemnations from around the globe. UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres has called for an “an independent and transparent investigation” to ensure those responsible are held to account.

Israel’s defense minister, Benny Gantz, on Wednesday promised such an inquiry, saying he was in touch with US and Palestinian officials and hoped for cooperation between Israel and the Palestinians.

“We are trying to figure out exactly what happened,” he said. “I don’t have final conclusions.”

On Twitter, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said her death was an affront to media freedom everywhere.

"The Israelis have the wherewithal and the capabilities to conduct a thorough, comprehensive investigation," Price told a news briefing.



Israeli Missile Hits Gaza Children Collecting Water

A Palestinian woman reacts as a young man carries the body of her child killed in an Israeli strike, in front of Gaza City's Maamadani (Baptist) hospital on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
A Palestinian woman reacts as a young man carries the body of her child killed in an Israeli strike, in front of Gaza City's Maamadani (Baptist) hospital on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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Israeli Missile Hits Gaza Children Collecting Water

A Palestinian woman reacts as a young man carries the body of her child killed in an Israeli strike, in front of Gaza City's Maamadani (Baptist) hospital on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
A Palestinian woman reacts as a young man carries the body of her child killed in an Israeli strike, in front of Gaza City's Maamadani (Baptist) hospital on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

At least eight Palestinians, most of them children, were killed and more than a dozen were wounded in central Gaza when they went to collect water on Sunday, local officials said.

The Israeli military said the missile had intended to hit an Islamic Jihad militant in the area but that a malfunction had caused it to fall "dozens of meters from the target".

"The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians," it said in a statement, adding that the incident was under review.

The strike hit a water distribution point in Nuseirat refugee camp, killing six children and injuring 17 others, said Ahmed Abu Saifan, an emergency physician at Al-Awda Hospital.

Water shortages in Gaza have worsened sharply in recent weeks, with fuel shortages causing desalination and sanitation facilities to close, making people dependent on collection centers where they can fill up their plastic containers.

Hours later, 12 people were killed by an Israeli strike on a market in Gaza City, including a prominent hospital consultant, Ahmad Qandil, Palestinian media reported. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack.

Gaza's health ministry said on Sunday that more than 58,000 people had been killed since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023, with 139 people added to the death toll over the past 24 hours.

Negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire appeared to be deadlocked, with the two sides divided over the extent of an eventual Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave, Palestinian and Israeli sources said at the weekend.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to convene ministers late on Sunday to discuss the latest developments in the talks, an Israeli official said.

The indirect talks over a US proposal for a 60-day ceasefire are being held in Doha, but optimism that surfaced last week of a looming deal has largely faded, with both sides accusing each other of intransigence.

Netanyahu in a video he posted on Telegram on Sunday said Israel would not back down from its core demands - releasing all the hostages still in Gaza, destroying Hamas and ensuring Gaza will never again be a threat to Israel.