Prominent Al Jazeera journalist Anas Al Sharif, who had previously been threatened by Israel, was among four colleagues killed in an Israeli airstrike on Sunday, in an attack widely condemned by media and rights groups.
Israel has been facing growing international criticism over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza caused by its offensive since October 2023, with Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and experts already declaring its actions in Gaza as a “genocide”, which Tel Aviv rejects.
Al Sharif, aged 28, was among a group of four Al Jazeera journalists and an assistant who were killed in a “directed assault” on a tent opposite Shifa Hospital in eastern Gaza City, Gaza officials and Al Jazeera said. An official at the hospital said two other people were also killed in the strike.
Calling Al Sharif “one of Gaza’s bravest journalists”, Al Jazeera said the attack was a “desperate attempt to silence voices in anticipation of the occupation of Gaza”.
The other journalists killed were Mohammed Qreiqeh, and photographers Ibrahim Al Thaher and Mohammed Noufal.
Israel’s military admitted it targeted and killed Al Sharif, alleging he had headed a Hamas cell and “was responsible for advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians” and troops.
Al Jazeera rejected the claim and said that before his death, Al Sharif had also dismissed earlier claims by Israel that he was connected to Hamas.
The Qatar-based outlet held the “Israeli occupation forces and government responsible for deliberately targeting and assassinating its journalists”.
“This follows repeated incitement and calls by multiple Israeli officials and spokespersons to target the fearless journalist Anas Al Sharif and his colleagues,” it noted.
“Anas Al Sharif and his colleagues were among the last remaining voices in Gaza conveying the tragic reality to the world,” Al Jazeera said.
A press freedom group and a United Nations expert previously warned that Al Sharif’s life was in danger due to his reporting from Gaza. UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan said last month that Israel’s claims against him were unsubstantiated.
Al Sharif was previously part of a Reuters team, which in 2024 won a Pulitzer Prize in the category of Breaking News Photography for coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Amnesty Australia also recognised him with a Human Rights Defender Award in December 2024.
Al Sharif, whose X account showed more than 500,000 followers, posted on the platform minutes before his death that Israel had been intensely bombarding Gaza City for more than two hours.
In a pre-written message released on his X account after his killing, Al Sharif lambasted those who remained silent and called on the world to speak for Palestine.
“… I never hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or misrepresentation, hoping that God would witness those who stayed silent, those who accepted our killing,” he said.
“I urge you not to let chains silence you, nor borders restrain you. Be bridges toward the liberation of the land and its people, until the sun of dignity and freedom rises over our stolen homeland,” Al Sharif added.
Last October, Israel’s military had named Al Sharif as one of six Gaza journalists it alleged were members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, citing documents it said showed lists of people who completed training courses and salaries.
“Al Jazeera categorically rejects the Israeli occupation forces’ portrayal of our journalists as terrorists and denounces their use of fabricated evidence,” the network said in a statement at the time.
Media bodies slam Israel’s killing of journalists
Journalists’ groups and Al Jazeera denounced the killings.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which in July urged the international community to protect Al Sharif, said in a statement that Israel had failed to provide any evidence to back up its allegations against him.
“Israel’s pattern of labelling journalists as militants without providing credible evidence raises serious questions about its intent and respect for press freedom,” said Sara Qudah, CPJ’s director for the Middle East and North Africa.
“Journalists are civilians and must never be targeted. Those responsible for these killings must be held accountable,” Qudah added.
The Freedom of the Press Foundation also condemned the killings, calling for international action to halt further attacks on the media, according to Al Jazeera.
“Everyone who has been angered by recent horrific images of starvation and suffering in Gaza needs to recognise that they wouldn’t see those images, and wouldn’t know about the atrocities their governments bankroll, without journalists risking their lives,” Seth Stern, director of advocacy at the New York-based nonprofit, said in a statement.
“That is exactly why Israel is targeting and killing them in violation of international law. Now, perhaps more than any other time since the killing began, the world understands how vital these journalists’ work is.
“The calls for the assassinations to end must be louder than ever, and we can’t let our leaders get away with mere expressions of concern or performative condemnations while the money and weapons Israel uses to exterminate journalists and other civilians keep flowing.”
US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal called on the United States to stop providing weapons for this genocide“ in Gaza.
“The Israeli military has killed more than 200 journalists and media workers,” Jayapal highlighted on X.
The Palestinian mission to the UN said the journalists had “systematically and dutifully exposed and documented Israel’s genocide and starvation” in Gaza.
Hamas said the killing may signal the start of an Israeli offensive.
“The assassination of journalists and the intimidation of those who remain paves the way for a major crime that the occupation is planning to commit in Gaza City,” Hamas said in a statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he would launch a new offensive to dismantle Hamas strongholds in Gaza, where a hunger crisis is escalating after 22 months of conflict.
The Gaza government media office said 237 journalists have been killed since Israel’s onslaught started on October 7, 2023. CPJ said at least 186 journalists have been killed in the Gaza conflict.