Biden says Israel's killing of Aysenur Eygi was 'an accident'

US President Joe Biden told reporters that Israel's killing of US-Turkish citizen Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was "an accident".

"Apparently it was an accident, ricocheted off the ground and just got hit by accident. I'm working that out now," Biden said.

Activists on the ground during Eygi's killing told MEE that she was deliberately targeted by Israeli fire, noting she was shot in the head.

The killing led to outrage, especially among Palestinian Americans, over what was described by progressive activists as a double standard in the way the US government responds to the deaths of Israeli Americans versus Americans killed by Israeli fire.

The Israeli military concluded its probe into the killing, saying that "it is highly likely that she was hit indirectly and unintentionally by IDF (Israeli army) fire".

The military said the bullet that killed her "was not aimed at her, but aimed at the key instigator of the riot".

President Biden tells reporters of Aysenur Eygi, the US citizen killed by Israeli forces: "Apparently it was an accident, ricocheted off the ground and just got hit by accident. I'm working that out now."

— Matt Viser (@mviser) September 10, 2024