Israel admits 'likely' killed Aysenur, autopsy says it's a direct hit

The Israeli military has admitted to killing Turkish-American rights activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, says a senior US official.

"We note that the Israeli Defense Forces have completed their preliminary investigation in which they found they were at fault," US National Security Spokesperson John Kirby told a press briefing on Thursday.

His statement was followed by an autopsy report that has laid bare the Israeli military claim that one of its soldiers might have 'unintentionally' killed the activist in the occupied West Bank on September 6.

The report prepared by the Palestinian Authority says the trajectory of the bullet that killed Eygi shows she was shot directly in the head.

Dr Rayyan al-Ali, the director of the Forensic Medicine Institute at an-Najah National University, conducted the preliminary external examination at Rafidia Surgical Hospital on behalf of the Public Prosecution in Nablus.

The forensic report attributed Eygi's death "to haemorrhage, oedema, and rupture of brain tissue caused by the penetrating gunshot wound".

The projectile was described as "fragmented and stable, with a trajectory inside the cranial cavity travelling from left to right in a nearly straight path".

Earlier, the Israeli military said that it had 'likely' killed Eygi.

Eyewitnesses and new video evidence have also refuted Israel's account of the 26-year-old activist in the occupied West Bank, in an investigation report by The Washington Post that she was shot more than 30 minutes after the peak of confrontations in Beita.

Additionally, the investigation found that Eygi was shot approximately 20 minutes after protesters had moved down the main road, over 182 metres away from the Israeli forces.

Standing beside a dumpster, Pollak mentioned that it had been shifted to the centre of the road at the hill's base. Other activists noted that he was the nearest person to the Israeli soldiers at that time, situated just over 182 meters away. Eygi was about 27 meters farther from the troops.

Pollak said he saw a muzzle flash and heard two shots. From his veranda, Beita resident Ali Maali described it as a "strong" gunshot sound from above, with the impact shaking the house.

John Kirby said it was unusual for the Israeli military to conduct investigations into their own crimes, especially after they called for a criminal probe into the killing of Eygi following a preliminary inquiry.

"And we also note that they have called for now a criminal investigation to pick up where they left off and move forward."

The statement further said: "We know that’s an unusual step for the IDF. That’s not something that they do typically".

Initially, Biden released a weak statement supporting the Israeli assessment that the bullet that killed Eygi seemed to have "ricocheted off the ground."

However, as criticism of the killing increased, his administration spoke out more strongly. On Wednesday, Biden expressed being "outraged and deeply saddened" by the killing.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israeli forces needed to "make some fundamental changes in the way that they operate in the occupied West Bank, including changes to their rules of engagement", adding that her killing was “unprovoked and unjustified”.

Eygi arrived as a volunteer in the occupied West Bank just a few days before she was killed.

“No-one should be shot and killed for attending a protest, no-one should have to put their life at risk just for freely expressing their views,” Blinken said shortly after Israeli preliminary investigation results.