Israel strike kills Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza
Israel's military said it targeted and killed Anas Al Sharif, alleging he had headed a Hamas cell and was involved in rocket attacks against Israel.
Al Jazeera rejected the claim and before his death Al Sharif had also rejected earlier claims by Israel that he was connected to Hamas.
Al Sharif, 28, was among a group of four Al Jazeera journalists and an assistant who died in a strike on a tent near 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."
Palestinians check the destroyed Al Jazeera tent at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on August 11, 2025, following an overnight strike by the Israeli military. AFP
The other journalists killed were Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher and Mohammed Noufal, Al Jazeera said.
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 war.
The Israeli military said in a statement that Al Sharif was the head of a Hamas cell and "was responsible for advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF (Israeli) troops," citing intelligence and documents found in Gaza as evidence.
Journalists' groups and Al Jazeera denounced the killings.
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. U.N. Special Rapporteur Irene Khan said last month that Israel's claims against him were unsubstantiated.
Al Jazeera said Al Sharif had left a social media message to be posted in the event of his death that read, "...I never hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or misrepresentation, hoping that God would witness those who remained silent."
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.
A relative of Al Jazeera journalist Mohammed Qreiqeh, who Al Jazeera says was killed by an Israeli strike, reacts in Gaza City, on Monday. Retuers
The Committee to Protect Journalists, 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 labeling journalists as fighters 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.
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.
Palestinian group Hamas, which runs Gaza, 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 war. "Anas Al Sharif and his colleagues were among the last remaining voices in Gaza conveying the tragic reality to the world," Al Jazeera said.
The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said 237 journalists have been killed since the war started on October 7, 2023. The Committee to Protect Journalists said at least 186 journalists have been killed in the Gaza conflict.
Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Etihad
2 hours ago
- Al Etihad
UN chief condemns Israeli killing of six journalists in Gaza
12 Aug 2025 00:42 NEW YORK (WAM)UN Chief Antonio Guterres has condemned the killing of six Palestinian journalists in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Sunday, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN chief, on Monday."These latest killings highlight the extreme risks journalists continue to face when covering this ongoing war," Dujarric secretary-general called for an independent and impartial investigation into these killings, he least 242 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza since the war began, said the secretary-general underscored that journalists and media workers must be respected and protected and allowed to carry out their work free from intimidation or harm, Dujarric another front, Dujarric announced that the international organisation and its partners had gathered food supplies and hygiene kits at the Karem Abu Salem crossing. These were unloaded directly from the trucks before reaching their designated destinations due to the widespread desperation in stated, 'People need a reliable lifeline to survive, not just drops of aid.'He confirmed that aid workers brought fuel from the crossing yesterday, explaining that Israeli authorities are allowing an average of about 150,000 liters of fuel per day. He considered this amount to be far below the minimum required to support lifesaving operations for the people of added that more than half of the Palestinian Red Crescent's ambulances have stopped working throughout Gaza due to a shortage of fuel and spare parts, which are prohibited from entering the Strip.
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.
