Five Al Jazeera journalists, including notable correspondent Anas al-Sharif, were murdered in a targeted Israeli strike near Gaza City’s al-Shifa hospital. Sharif and another correspondent, Mohammed Qreiqeh, as well as cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa, were in a press tent near the hospital’s main gate when it was attacked, according to the broadcaster. The “targeted assassination” on Sunday was “yet another blatant and premeditated attack on press freedom,” the statement read. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the incident. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced it had targeted Sharif, stating he had “served as the head of a terrorist cell in Hamas”.
It further stated that he had “advanced rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and IDF troops” and claimed to have Hamas paperwork indicating that he had served in one of the group’s battalions in 2019. However, the CPJ stated that Israel had failed to produce evidence to support its allegations. “This is a pattern we’ve seen from Israel – not just in the current war, but in the decades preceding – in which typically a journalist will be killed by Israeli forces and then Israel will say after the fact that they are a terrorist, but provides very little evidence to back up those claims,”
Al Jazeera’s managing editor Mohamed Moawad told the BBC that Sharif was an accredited journalist who was “the only voice” for the world to know what was happening in the Gaza Strip.
Throughout the battle, Israel has refused to allow international journalists into Gaza to report freely. As a result, many publications rely on local correspondents within the region to provide coverage. “They were targeted in their tent, they weren’t covering from the front line,” Moawad said of the Israeli hit. “The Israeli government wants to silence any channel of reporting from inside Gaza,” he told The Newsroom. “This is something that I haven’t seen before in modern history.” Salah Negm, the director of Al Jazeera English, remarked.
Sharif, 28, appeared to be posting on X in the moments before his death, warning of intense Israeli bombardment within Gaza City. A post that was published after he was reported to have died appears to have been pre-written and published by a friend.
In two graphic videos of the aftermath of the strike, which have been confirmed, men can be seen carrying the bodies of those who were killed. Some shout out Qreiqeh’s name, and a man wearing a media vest says that one of the bodies is that of Sharif.
In total, seven people died in the strike, Al Jazeera said. The broadcaster initially said that four of its staff had been killed, but revised it to five a few hours later.
Medics at al-Shifa Hospital informed Reuters on Monday that local freelance reporter Mohammad Al-Khaldi was also murdered in the attack, bringing the total number of journalists killed in the same strike to six. Last month, the Al Jazeera Media Network, the United Nations, and the CPJ released separate statements warning that Sharif’s life was in danger and pleading for his safety. In July, IDF spokesperson Avichai Adraee uploaded a video of Sharif on X, accusing him of belonging to Hamas’ military branch. Irene Khan, a UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, described it as “an unsubstantiated claim” and a “blatant assault on journalists.”
At the time, she said there was “growing evidence that journalists in Gaza have been targeted and killed by the Israeli army on the basis of unsubstantiated claims that they were Hamas terrorists”.
In its most recent statement, the IDF accused Sharif of posing as a journalist and stated that it had previously “disclosed intelligence” verifying his military affiliation, which included “lists of terrorist training courses”. This is not the first time the IDF has targeted and killed Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza, claiming they were associated with Hamas. Ismael Al-Ghoul was killed by an air strike while sitting in his car in August of last year; a horrifying video posted on social media revealed his headless body. Cameraman Rami al-Rifi and a youngster riding a bicycle were also slain. In al-Ghoul’s case, the IDF claimed he participated in Hamas’ strikes on Israel on October 7, 2023, which Al Jazeera vigorously refuted.
According to the CPJ, 186 journalists have been confirmed killed since the start of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza in October 2023.
The situation for the remaining journalists in Gaza is grave. In addition to air strikes, there is a risk of malnutrition. Last month, the BBC and three news agencies (Reuters, AP, and AFP) released a joint statement expressing “desperate concern” for journalists in the Strip, claiming they are increasingly unable to feed themselves and their families. Three freelancers claimed they frequently go days without eating, and one fell while filming. More than 100 international relief agencies and human rights groups have issued warnings about mass famine in Gaza. Israel, which regulates the entry of assistance supplies into Gaza, has accused the NGOs of “serving Hamas’ propaganda”.
Israel launched its offensive in reaction to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 more were held captive. More than 61,000 people have died in Gaza since the Israeli military campaign began, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
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