Israeli soldier Alon Scagio is named in the killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh as CPJ demands full accountability and condemns U.S. and international inaction enabling impunity.
This statement was originally published on cpj.org on 8 May 2025.
The documentary “Who Killed Shireen?”, produced by U.S.-based media company Zeteo, claims to have identified the Israeli soldier who killed Abu Akleh on May 11, 2022, while she was covering an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operation in the West Bank town of Jenin. The IDF said in September 2022, following a brief investigation, that it was not possible to “unequivocally determine” the source of the gunfire, but there was a “high possibility” that Abu Akleh was “accidentally hit” by Israel. An FBI investigation is now in its 30th month with no resolution in sight, while the International Criminal Court has not responded to repeated calls to launch a probe.
“Criminal accountability throughout the chain of command is the only path to justice. Shireen Abu Akleh was an American citizen and journalist, and the U.S. has a clear responsibility to investigate her killing thoroughly and swiftly, and to punish the perpetrators,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg. “These delays are unacceptable. U.S. failure to protect its own citizens and journalists worldwide allows these killings to continue with impunity.”
The Zeteo documentary identified 20-year-old Alon Scagio as having fired the fatal shot. After the IDF released its internal investigation in September 2022, Scagio — who began serving for the first time in the West Bank that year — was transferred to another unit and then killed by an explosive in Jenin in 2024, the filmmakers said.
According to CPJ’s data, which dates back to 1992, it is the first time that a potential suspect has been named in connection with an Israeli killing of a journalist.
‘System that enables impunity’
In May 2023, CPJ’s “Deadly Pattern” report showed that over 22 years, members of the IDF killed at least 20 journalists. Despite numerous IDF probes, no one has ever been charged for these deaths. The systemic impunity has continued into the current war: the IDF has conducted no criminal investigations into any of at least 174 Palestinian and Lebanese journalists it has killed since the Israel-Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, even in cases where there is significant evidence of a war crime.
“Failure to fully investigate and hold accountable those responsible for the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh and 19 other journalists killed by Israel prior to her murder has effectively given Israel permission to silence hundreds more,” Ginsberg said.
Multiple investigations concluded that Abu Akleh – a household name in the region – was shot by the IDF, which said its troops were in the area “to arrest suspects in terrorist activities.” Some analyses, including one by CNN, said there was evidence that Abu Akleh was deliberately targeted.
The IDF concluded in 2022 that there was a “high possibility” that Abu Akleh was “accidentally” killed by Israeli forces but declined to open a criminal investigation into the killing.
“Regardless if the soldier’s identity is known or whether he is dead or alive doesn’t change the fact that Shireen was intentionally targeted and killed, and that happened within a system that enables impunity,” the journalist’s niece, Lina Abu Akleh, told CPJ.
“Accountability cannot stop at one name or one face. Justice demands that the full chain of command — those who gave the orders, those who covered it up, and those who continue to deny responsibility — be held to account. Only then can there be any hope for real closure, not just for Shireen, but for every journalist and family seeking truth,” Abu Akleh said.
It has been two and a half years since the U.S. Department of Justice notified Israel it was conducting an FBI investigation into the killing, after it faced repeated congressional calls to do so. Israel said it would not cooperate, and there is still no timeline for completion of the investigation.
Despite the filing of multiple complaints to the International Criminal Court, including by Shireen’s family and Al Jazeera, the prosecutor has still not opened an investigation into her killing.
Abu Akleh’s then producer, Ali Al Samoudi – who is featured in the documentary and was wounded at the time by a shot in his back – is facing six months of administrative detention without charge in the West Bank, following a raid on his home on April 29, 2025.
CPJ’s emails seeking comment from the IDF’s North America Media Desk, the FBI, and the ICC did not receive an immediate response.
