Deadly strike on Al Jazeera crew sparks outcry over journalist safety

Jordan Times

a day ago

AMMAN — Five Al Jazeera journalists were killed on Sunday in an Israeli airstrike near Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, prompting renewed calls for the protection of media workers in conflict zones and raising serious questions about the targeting of journalists under international law.
Al Jazeera confirmed the deaths of correspondent Anas Al Sharif, 28, reporter Mohammed Qreiqeh, cameramen Ibrahim Zaher and Moamen Aliwa, and driver and camera assistant Mohammed Noufal. The group was working in a tent used by media personnel near the hospital's main entrance when the strike occurred.
Just hours before his death, Al Sharif shared a poignant message on social media: 'If this madness does not end, Gaza will be reduced to ruins, its people's voices silenced, their faces erased, and history will remember you as silent witnesses to a genocide you chose not to stop.'
The Israeli military later acknowledged Al Sharif was the intended target, alleging he was a Hamas operative 'posing as a journalist.' However, no public evidence has been provided to substantiate this claim. The labeling of Palestinian journalists as militants has drawn sharp criticism from international press freedom organizations.
'Israel's pattern of accusing journalists without credible proof raises grave concerns about its respect for press freedom,' said Sara Qudah, Middle East and North Africa Programme Coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
'Israel's pattern of accusing journalists without credible proof raises grave concerns about its respect for press freedom. Journalists are civilians and must never be targeted. Those responsible for these killings must be held to accountable,' she said.
'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," CPJ's CEO Jodie Ginsberg told the BBC.
Record toll on journalists
According to CPJ data, at least 186 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza since the war began in October 2023, including 178 Palestinians, two Israelis, and six Lebanese — making it the deadliest conflict for journalists on record.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) estimates that more than 35 journalists may have been deliberately targeted, while Gaza's Government Media Office places the total journalist death toll at 237. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) reports that at least 189 journalists have been killed in Gaza, with 175 of them being Palestinians.
The IFJ emphasised that journalists in Gaza face disproportionate risks, with fatalities exceeding 10 per cent of the total media workforce in the region, highlighting the urgent need for protective measures.
Accusations of targeting and impunity
Yihya Shaqir, a media expert, condemned the attack, stating that "the Israeli aggression on Gaza has killed approximately 230 journalists.
'Journalists have been historically targeted by political parties to silence witnesses who document their crimes', he said.
'The deliberate killing of journalists is one of the violations that Israel has committed in violation of international humanitarian law. The Geneva Conventions are legally and morally obligatory for all states to enforce and discipline violators. However, a concerning pattern of double standards continues, primarily because of the protection that Israel receives, particularly from the United States, as demonstrated by the sanctions imposed on International Criminal Court judges', he said.
The Jordanian Press Association (JPA) has strongly condemned the Israeli airstrike that assassinated six journalists and cameramen.
Describing Israeli killing of journalists in Gaza as part of a 'systematic campaign against press freedom,' the JPA denounced the assault amid the ongoing Israeli collective punishment of Palestinians in Gaza.
'This flagrant and deliberate attack takes place under the world's watchful eyes, with no deterrence or accountability, in an attempt to silence the true narrative of the unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza,' the association said.
The JPA highlighted Israel's obstruction of media access to Gaza, aiming to 'conceal the scale of its crimes against people and infrastructure.' It also called on the international community to intervene urgently to halt the destructive war, facilitate humanitarian aid, and allow media coverage on the ground.
Reaffirming Jordan's firm position under his Majesty King Abdullah, the association reiterated its rejection of Israeli violations against Palestinians and its support for the Palestinian right to an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital and commended Jordan's diplomatic efforts to safeguard holy sites and end the aggression.
The statement concluded by underscoring the necessity of holding the Israeli occupation accountable to prevent impunity and the further targeting of journalists, who remain essential witnesses to the truth.
'We express our full solidarity with our journalist and cameraman colleagues in Gaza, who continue their professional mission under catastrophic conditions, committed to bringing part of the reality to the world,' the JPA said.