Al-Jazeera female reporter shot dead during Israeli raid in West Bank

A reporter for the Al Jazeera network died after being wounded while covering clashes in the West Bank, the broadcaster and Palestinian officials said Wednesday.

The broadcaster identified the reporter as Shireen Abu Akleh, 51, who was a prominent figure in Al Jazeera's Arabic news service.

She was also wearing protective gear that identified her as a member of the press, according to the broadcaster.

Al Jazeera said another journalist, Ali Samoudi, was also wounded and is in stable condition. Samoudi was working as Abu Akleh's producer when they were both struck by gunfire.

"What we know for now is that the Palestinian Health Ministry has announced her death," Al Jazeera's Nida Ibrahim said in a statement posted to the broadcaster's website.

"As you can imagine, this is a shock to the journalists who have been working with her," Ibrahim added.

Israel offers joint investigation into death

The shooting reportedly took place during an army raid in the West Bank city of Jenin.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said Israel has "offered the Palestinians a joint pathological investigation into the sad death" of Abu Akleh.

"Journalists must be protected in conflict zones and we all have a responsibility to get to the truth," he added in a post on Twitter.

An Agence France-Presse (AFP) photographer, who was also at the scene, reported that she had been killed as a result of gunfire from Israeli forces.

In a statement, Israel's military said it carried out a counterterrorism operation at a refugee camp in Jenin on Wednesday morning in an effort to detain suspects accused of terrorist activities.

During the operation, Israel's armed forces said suspects fired upon Israeli soldiers, who responded with gunfire "and hits were identified."

An investigation is currently underway and is "looking into the possibility that journalists were hit by Palestinian gunmen," the statement added.

Abu Akleh was a 51-year-old Palestinian journalist with American citizenship who was born in Jerusalem.

The US Ambassador to Israel, Tim Nides, confirmed Abu Akleh was a US citizen, in a post on Twitter. He also said he encouraged "a thorough investigation into the circumstances of her death."

She began working for the Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera in 1997 and reported regularly on camera across the Palestinian territories.