WASHINGTON: The United States concluded Monday that Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was likely killed by Israeli gunfire and urged accountability, but said there was no reason to believe she was shot intentionally.

Dashing hopes for a result that would be accepted by all sides, the United States said it could not make a “definitive conclusion” on the origin of the bullet that killed the journalist on May 11.

Israel says will examine bullet that killed reporter with US experts

“Ballistic experts determined the bullet was badly damaged, which prevented a clear conclusion,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement after what he called “extremely detailed forensic analysis” of the bullet reluctantly handed over by the Palestinian Authority. Abu Akleh, who held US citizenship and was one of the best-known Palestinian journalists, was fatally shot as she covered an Israeli army operation in Jenin in the occupied West Bank despite wearing a vest that said “Press.”