The US State Department stated that “investigators were unable to reach a definitive conclusion following a detailed forensic analysis of the projectile that killed journalist Shirin Abu Akle” and explained that “the US security coordinator, after examining two investigations, concluded that Shirin was more likely all killed. She was shot dead from IDF positions, but there is no reason to believe that she was killed on purpose.”

Raveena Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said earlier that “all the information we have collected, including from the Israeli army and the Palestinian Attorney General, confirms the fact that the bullets that killed Shereen Abu Akle and wounded her Ali al-Samoudi’s colleagues were fired by the Israeli security forces and not random shots fired by armed Palestinians, as the Israeli authorities initially claimed.

Shamdasani pointed out at a press conference in Geneva that “we did not find any information indicating that the Palestinian militants were carrying out any activity near the journalists”, adding that “it is very disturbing that the Israeli authorities have not launched a judicial investigation” .