Israeli strike kills 5 Al Jazeera journalists near Gaza hospital
Five journalists working for Al Jazeera, including the well-known reporter Anas al-Sharif, have been killed in an Israeli strike near Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital.
The broadcaster reported that reporter: Anas al-Sharif, Mohammad Qureiqaa, cameramen: Ibrahim Zaher, Moamen Alaywa, crew driver: Mohammad Nofalal-Sharif, were in a tent for journalists at the hospital’s main gate when the strike occurred on Sunday.
Al Jazeera described the incident as a “targeted assassination” and “yet another blatant and premeditated attack on press freedom.” The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed it had targeted Anas al-Sharif, claiming he “served as the head of a terrorist cell in Hamas” and “advanced rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and IDF troops.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) expressed its shock at the attack and noted that Israel had not provided evidence to support its allegations against al-Sharif. CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg told the BBC, “This is a pattern we’ve seen from Israel…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.”
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Al Jazeera’s managing editor, Mohamed Moawad, told the BBC that al-Sharif was an accredited journalist and “the only voice” for the world to know what was happening in the Gaza Strip. International journalists have not been allowed to report freely from Gaza by Israel, making local reporters crucial for coverage.
Moawad stated that the journalists “were targeted in their tent, they weren’t covering from the front line.” He believes that “the fact is that the Israeli government is wanting to silence the coverage of any channel of reporting from inside Gaza… This is something that I haven’t seen before in modern history.” Last month, the Al Jazeera Media Network, the United Nations, and the CPJ had all issued warnings that al-Sharif’s life was in danger.
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Al-Sharif, 28, appeared to have been posting on X just before his death, warning of intense Israeli bombardment. A subsequent post was reportedly pre-written and published by a friend. Two graphic videos of the aftermath, confirmed by BBC Verify, show men carrying the bodies and identifying the victims.
Al Jazeera stated that a total of seven people were killed in the strike, and it revised its initial report of four staff members killed to five a few hours later. The IDF, in its statement, accused al-Sharif of posing as a journalist and claimed it had previously “disclosed intelligence” confirming his military affiliation, including “lists of terrorist training courses.”
This is not the first time the IDF has killed Al Jazeera journalists, claiming they were affiliated with Hamas. In August of last year, journalist Ismael Al-Ghoul was killed in an airstrike while in his car, a claim Al Jazeera strongly rejected. The IDF had said Al-Ghoul participated in the October 7, 2023, attacks, a claim Al Jazeera strongly rejected.
According to the CPJ, 186 journalists have been killed since Israel’s military offensive began in October 2023. For those still in Gaza, the situation is dire, with the added threat of starvation.
The BBC and three news agencies—Reuters, AP, and AFP, issued a joint statement expressing “desperate concern” for journalists who are “increasingly unable to feed themselves and their families.” Three BBC freelancers have reported going days without eating, with one collapsing during filming.
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Over 100 international aid organizations have warned of mass starvation in Gaza. Israel, which controls the entry of aid, has accused the charities of “serving the propaganda of Hamas.”
The military operation was launched in response to the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people. Since the offensive began, over 61,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
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