France on Wednesday said it is “deeply shocked” over the death of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and called for a transparent investigation.

“France demands that a transparent investigation be undertaken as soon as possible to shed light on the circumstances of this tragedy,” a Foreign Ministry statement said.

The ministry reaffirmed its commitment to freedom of the press and the protection of journalists contributing to free information and public debate across the world.

Abu Akleh, 51, was shot dead while covering an Israeli military raid in the West Bank city of Jenin, on Wednesday morning. Another journalist Ali Al-Samoudi was shot in the back, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The Doha-based network has accused Israeli forces of deliberately assassinating its reporter “in cold blood.”

Rayyan al-Ali, the director of the Forensic Medicine Institute at the An-Najah University in Nablus city, said Abu Akleh was fatally shot in the head./aa