OCCUPIED JERUSA-LEM: The Israeli army conceded for the first time Monday that it was likely Palestinian-American reporter Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead by an Israeli soldier who mistook her for a militant.

“There is a high possibility that Ms Abu Akleh was accidentally hit by IDF (Israel Defense Forces) gunfire that was fired toward suspects identified as armed Palestinian gunmen,” said the army’s final investigation report into her May 11 death.

Al Jazeera says reporter killed by Israeli army gunfire in West Bank

The acknowledgement comes after months in which the army had insisted it was impossible to determine the source of the deadly shot that killed the celebrated Al Jazeera journalist in the occupied West Bank, saying it could have been militant fire.