Latest: Qatar condemns Israel's 'deliberate targeting' of journalists in Gaza
Family of eight killed in Israeli strike on house in Gaza city
Algeria calls Israel 'enemy of humanity' and seeks UN sanctions
New Gaza operation will be on 'fairly short timetable', says Netanyahu
Hamas accuses Netanyahu of 'series of lies' during Gaza media conference
At least 61,430 Palestinians killed and 153,213 wounded since Gaza war began
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Middle East Eye
2 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
BBC condemned for repeating Israeli narrative on slain journalist Anas al-Sharif
BBC's reporting on the killing of several Palestinian journalists in Gaza has been on the receiving end of fierce criticism, with thousands on social media saying the broadcaster is 'parroting the Israeli narrative'. Late on Sunday local time, prominent Al Jazeera correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh were killed in a drone strike on a press tent near al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. The strike also took the lives of Al Jazeera staff Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa, as well as freelance journalist Mohammed al-Khalidi. While many around the world mourned their losses, the BBC's coverage of the slain journalists received backlash for repeating Israel's accusation that Sharif had a "dual role" as "journalist and terrorist". Israel has routinely made such claims about journalists, which have been strongly rejected by the Committee to Protect Journalists. One social media user suggested that this was a character assassination, right after Israel killed him. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters "Lets bring in our colleague Yolande Knell who is in Jerusalem. The accusation from Israel is that Anas al Sharif had a dual role, he was both in their words journalist and terrorist..." The IDF assassinated him. Now the BBC assassinates his character. — Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) August 11, 2025 In another report, a BBC news anchor said, 'Israel says Anas Al-Sharif was a member of Hamas, a claim long rejected by the news network, his family, and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).' For many on social media, the news anchor adding the fact that Al Jazeera and the CPJ rejected these claims was not enough, with one saying, 'the BBC stooped so low it should be banned from broadcasting after parroting the Israeli narrative.' The @BBC just stooped so low it should be banned from broadcasting after parroting the Israeli narrative about murdered @AnasAlSharif0 — Sarah Wilkinson (@swilkinsonbc) August 10, 2025 The BBC's coverage also ignited criticism of many other western media outlets. Many on social media suggested that media outlets that remained silent while Israel continued its assaults on Gaza for 21 months were 'complicit' in the "genocidal machine". One social media user compiled headlines from western media outlets, in which the German Bild magazine wrote, 'Journalist in disguise as terrorists killed in Gaza'. Anas a beacon of light, killed by cowards to hide their crimes. You never stood when they threatened him for telling the truth#Reuters, #Bild, #Sky, #BBC & all other apologists/propagandists for a genocidal machine you're complicit We will never forget. We will never forgive — Osama Bin Javaid (@osamabinjavaid) August 11, 2025 Others praised Sharif for standing 'unbowed before Zionism, exposing Israel's war crimes with integrity and honour'. In one social media post, a person shared a screenshot from the BBC, saying: 'Anas Al-Sharif worked for a Hamas media team in Gaza before the current conflict.' The person wrote, 'The BBC has repeatedly abandoned the core principles of journalism, choosing to support the genocide rather than report the truth about its victims.' The BBC (@BBC) insists on adopting the Israeli narrative, falsely claiming that Anas Al-Sharif was affiliated with Hamas. Al-Sharif was broadcasting and reporting the genocide in #Gaza live, day in and day out—and for that, he was deliberately killed. The BBC does not shy away… — Sahat English 🇵🇸 (@sahatenglish) August 11, 2025 According to Gaza's government media office, Israel has killed 238 Palestinian journalists since the start of the war in October 2023. Over 61,000 Palestinians have been killed in the enclave, and starvation is looming, with more than 200 dead from hunger. Rights groups and press freedom advocates have described the war in Gaza as the deadliest conflict for journalists in modern history while human rights groups, scholars and some countries quantify it as a genocide.
The National
3 hours ago
- The National
US victims of Hamas and Hezbollah attacks sue UN Palestinian aid agency
A group of US citizens who are victims or relatives of victims of Hamas or Hezbollah attacks has filed a lawsuit against the UN Palestinian aid agency, accusing it of promoting terrorism. Filed in a Washington district court last week, the lawsuit takes aim at UNRWA, whose US offices are based in the capital. The 200 plaintiffs included in the lawsuit say UNRWA has breached US anti-terrorism laws by "collectively and collaboratively" helping to provide funds and other support to Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Hezbollah, all of which the US has designated as foreign terrorist organisations. UNRWA condemned the lawsuit, calling it "baseless" and part of a "co-ordinated campaign" to distract from the agency's goal of providing aid to Palestinians. "The continued regurgitation of false claims isn't about concern or due diligence or any new information; it's about weaponising misinformation to dismantle a life-saving institution precisely because of its central role in keeping Palestinian refugees and the hope of Palestinian freedom and self-determination alive," UNRWA said in a media release. "This action is part of a broader effort to weaponise the legal system against those who dare to care." According to the lawsuit, the support allowed the groups to "build up the necessary terror infrastructure and to recruit, indoctrinate, radicalise, train and/or compensate many of those who have carried out terrorist attacks throughout Israel". The lawsuit also accuses the agency of employing staff who the plaintiffs allege were directly involved in terror attacks. Many of the allegations stem from the Hamas attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which began the Israel-Gaza war. One of the plaintiffs, the Mathias family, is suing on behalf of Deborah Mathias and her husband, Shlomi Mathias, who were killed by Hamas, according to the lawsuit. "This is a case seeking justice and accountability against an entity that holds itself out as 'humanitarian' but which has utterly failed in its mission and purpose while unconscionably providing material support for terror," Richard Heideman, lead counsel for the plaintiffs, told ABC News. The plaintiffs seek unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. The lawsuit follows a similar one filed last year in New York. The UN agency has long been a target of the Israeli government, particularly after the October 7 attacks, in which Israel claimed - without providing evidence - that UNRWA employees had taken part. The US in 2024 cut funding to UNRWA over the allegations. In January, Israel announced its decision to shut down the UNRWA offices in occupied East Jerusalem, saying it was cutting all ties with the aid agency.
Middle East Eye
3 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
UN special rapporteur lashes out at Israeli claims killed Al Jazeera reporter was Hamas member
The UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression lashed out at Israel and debunked their claim that Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif was a Hamas member, Al Jazeera reported on Monday. Sharif was killed by Israel along with five other press members in a drone attack on their tent late on Sunday local time. Irene Khan told Al Jazeera, 'If they had real evidence [of this], do you not think that they would put it out, up front, right away in the international arena? Of course they would. But why are they not doing that? Because they don't have that evidence,' she said. 'They simply [say] that any journalist who is reporting on Gaza must be a 'Hamas member', just as anyone who criticises Israel has to be 'anti-Semitic'. 'That's the way that Israel silences the world from criticising them or holding them to account.'
