Al Jazeera correspondent among journalists killed in Gaza City air strike
Anas al-Sharif and his Al Jazeera colleague Mohamed Qureiqa were among those killed while sheltering outside the Gaza City Hospital complex late on Sunday.
Advertisement
Officials at Shifa Hospital confirmed the deaths and said the strike also killed four other journalists and two other people. It also damaged the entrance to the hospital complex's emergency building.
People inspect the destroyed tent where journalists, including Al Jazeera correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohamed Qureiqa, were killed by an Israeli air strike (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Israel's military described Mr al-Sharif as the leader of a Hamas cell – an allegation that Al Jazeera and Mr al-Sharif had previously dismissed as baseless.
The incident marked the first time during the war that Israel's military has swiftly claimed responsibility after a journalist was killed in a strike.
It came less than a year after Israeli army officials first accused Mr al-Sharif and other Al Jazeera journalists of being members of the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad. In a July 24 video, Israel's army spokesman Avichay Adraee attacked Al Jazeera and accused Mr al-Sharif of being part of Hamas's military wing.
Advertisement
Al Jazeera called the strike a 'targeted assassination' and accused Israeli officials of incitement, connecting Mr al-Sharif's death to the allegations that both the broadcaster and correspondent had denied.
'Anas and his colleagues were among the last remaining voices from within Gaza, providing the world with unfiltered, on-the-ground coverage of the devastating realities endured by its people,' Al Jazeera said in a statement.
The journalists are the latest to be killed in what observers have called the deadliest conflict for journalists in modern times (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Mr al-Sharif reported a nearby bombardment minutes before his death. In a social media post that Al Jazeera said was written to be posted in case of his death, he bemoaned the devastation and destruction that war had wrought and bid farewell to his wife, son and daughter.
'I never hesitated for a single day to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification,' the 28-year-old wrote.
Advertisement
The journalists are the latest to be killed in what observers have called the deadliest conflict for journalists in modern times. The Committee to Protect Journalists said on Sunday that at least 186 have been killed in Gaza.
Mr al-Sharif began reporting for Al Jazeera a few days after war broke out. He was known for reporting on Israel's bombardment in northern Gaza, and later for the starvation gripping much of the territory's population.
In a July broadcast he cried on air as a woman behind him collapsed from hunger.
'I am talking about slow death of those people,' he said at the time.
Advertisement
Al Jazeera is blocked in Israel and soldiers raided its offices in the occupied West Bank last year, ordering them to close.
Mr al-Sharif's death comes weeks after the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said Israel had targeted him with a smear campaign.
'Israel's pattern of labelling journalists as militants without providing credible evidence raises serious questions about its intent and respect for press freedom,' Sara Qudah, the group's regional director, said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
30 minutes ago
- The Guardian
New Zealand Greens co-leader barred from parliament for a week after Gaza speech
The New Zealand Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick was ejected from parliament's debating chamber and told to remain on leave for the rest of the week during a debate about the war in Gaza. Swarbrick challenged coalition MPs to back her member's bill allowing New Zealand to apply sanctions on Israel and said: 'If we find six of 68 government MPs with a spine, we can stand on the right side of history.' She was ordered to leave the chamber until the end of the week after refusing to apologise for the remark.
The Guardian
30 minutes ago
- The Guardian
MP removed from New Zealand parliament in heated debate over Palestinian recognition
New Zealand parliamentarian Chlöe Swarbrick was ordered to leave parliament on Tuesday during a heated debate over the government's response to the conflict in Gaza. An urgent debate was called after the centre-right government said on Monday it was weighing up its position on whether to recognise a Palestinian state. Close ally Australia on Monday joined Canada, the UK and France in announcing it would recognise a Palestinian state at a UN conference in September. Swarbrick, who is co-leader of the Green party, said New Zealand was a 'laggard' and an 'outlier' and the lack of decision was appalling, before calling on some government members to support a bill to 'sanction Israel for its war crimes'. The bill was proposed by her party in March and is supported by all opposition parties. 'If we find six of 68 government MPs with a spine, we can stand on the right side of history,' said Swarbrick. Speaker Gerry Brownlee said that statement was 'completely unacceptable' and that she had to withdraw it and apologise. When she refused, Swarbrick was ordered to leave parliament. Brownlee later clarified Swarbrick could return on Wednesday but if she still refused to apologise she would again be removed from parliament. New Zealand has said it will make a decision in September about whether it would recognise Palestine as a state. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been strongly critical of growing international moves to recognise a Palestinian state. 'To have European countries and Australia march into that rabbit hole, just like that, fall right into it,' he said earlier this week. 'This canard is disappointing, and I think it's actually shameful. But it's not going to change our position.' Netanyahu went on to claim Israel was 'actually applying force judiciously, and they know it'. Foreign minister Winston Peters told parliament that over the next month the government would gather information and talk to partners, which would inform cabinet's decision. 'We'll be weighing this decision carefully rather than rushing to judgment,' Peters said. Along with the Green party, opposition parties Labour and Te Pati Maori support recognition of a Palestinian state. Labour parliamentarian Peeni Henare said New Zealand had a history of standing strong on its principles and values and in this case 'was being left behind'.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Senator Fatima Payman delivers brutal four-word message to Anthony Albanese after being vindicated for quitting Labor over Palestine
Fatima Payman, who sensationally quit Labor over its stance on Gaza, has demanded an apology from Anthony Albanese after he announced the Australian government would recognise Palestinian statehood. The Prime Minister revealed on Monday that Australia would recognise Palestinian statehood at the United Nations next month, following similar commitments made by other Western allies including the UK, France and Canada. Senator Payman, who defied Labor in June 2024 by voting with the Greens to call for the recognition of Palestinian statehood, said she was 'absolutely thrilled' by Monday's announcement, claiming it was vindication for her decision to defy Albanese. 'Having to cross the floor to vote for such an important issue and then having to endure the resulting fallout from Labor and some in the community was one of the most stressful moments of my life,' Senator Payman said in a media release. 'But it is terrific to know that Labor has finally caught up and that my move has been vindicated.' Senator Payman was forgiving of her former boss, Albanese, claiming she was now 'sanguine' over his decision to 'indefinitely suspend' her for 'disrespecting' the Labor Party caucus. But that same magnanimity was not matched in Senator Payman's social media comments section, after she shared a buoyant where she claimed that Albanese's long-awaited announcement proved she was 'on the right side of history'. Responding to a critic who asked if she would 'now apologise to Albo and beg to be allowed back in the party', Senator Payman did not mince her words. 'Why would I do that lol?', she responded, in her trademark 'youth-speak'. 'I stuck by the Labor Party Platform and did right by the members. He owes me an apology.' A spokesperson for Senator Payman told the Daily Mail she has not heard anything from the Prime Minister's office or any one within Labor's senior ranks. Treasurer Jim Chalmers was asked on Wednesday morning whether Senator Payman had now been vindicated in her decision to quit Labor but dodged the question. 'I always think that whether it's Senator Payman or others, we're better off working for change within the party, rather than sitting outside the party,' Chalmers told ABC RN. 'She doesn't have an identical view to the government on this still, and this government works through issues in a considered, consultative and methodical way, and that's why we've made this announcement that we made earlier in the week.' 'I haven't spoken to Senator Payman about it, or heard any public commentary from her. 'No doubt there's been some. But we work through these issues in our own way, on our own, in our own time, and that's what's seen the progress delivered this week.' Senator Payman, who is in the process of founding her own party, said that recognition of Palestinian statehood was only the first step. 'Now we need sanctions on Israel, an end to the arms trade, full transparency in our trade relationships, and recognition of the Palestinian right to return,' she added. 'Only then can recognition be matched with the meaningful action Palestinians deserve.' Labor's long-awaited announcement triggered a flurry of furious criticism from Israel and Jewish groups, who accused them of playing into Hamas 's hands by 'effectively 'rewarding terrorism'. However, Albanese hit back, accusing the Israeli government of presiding over a 'completely unacceptable' situation whereby Gazans are dying of starvation. Albanese said that when he spoke to Netanyahu last Thursday, the Israeli Prime Minister made the same argument that he had made a year ago. 'That if we just had more military action in Gaza, somehow that will produce a different outcome,' Albanese told the ABC. 'What it's producing is more and more innocent lives being lost. More and more violence. More and more destitution that we're seeing play out with the starvation that has occurred in Gaza.' Albanese accused Netanyahu of being 'in denial about the consequences that are occurring for innocent people'. Labor's support for Palestinian statehood is contingent on Hamas playing no role in any future government, free elections being held and demilitarisation of the region. However, serious doubts have been raised about the faith Albanese is placing in the 89-year-old Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas, who has not faced election since 2005 in the notoriously corrupt West Bank, has also promised to end 'pay to slay' rewards for terrorists and their families. However, Jewish groups have pointed out that he has a notorious track record of breaking promises.
