Protests in Belfast and Dublin over Israel's killing of journalists in Gaza

Belfast Telegraph

a day ago

Deliberate strike on Al Jazeera crew sparks outrage across globe
Protests have taken place in Belfast and Dublin after a prominent Al Jazeera correspondent was killed alongside four colleagues by the Israelis in Gaza City at the weekend.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) held demonstrations at Writers' Square in the Cathedral Quarter and at the Spire in Dublin city centre on Monday evening to condemn the outrage.
Israel's military described Anas al-Sharif (28) as the leader of a Hamas cell.
Both Al Jazeera and Mr al-Sharif, whose colleague Mohamed Qreiqeh also died in the blast, previously dismissed the allegation as baseless.
Ireland's foreign affairs minister Simon Harris said: 'Can I say firstly, just to extend the sympathy and solidarity of the people of Ireland with Al Jazeera and the journalists — the five staff members of Al Jazeera and the one other reporter — who have been killed in a horrifying attack in Gaza.
'In many ways, it is the silencing of some of the few journalistic voices left in Gaza.
'Of course, any attack on any civilian — including, of course, any attack on any journalist — should always be absolutely condemned for what it is.
'At a time when the people of Gaza desperately need to see a ceasefire, an end to the violence, a surge in humanitarian aid, and of course, the release of the hostages, all of the indications from Netanyahu is of an Israeli government intended to go in the complete opposite direction to that.
'I do think it is interesting in recent days to have seen an increase in protest within Israel, Israeli people standing up and saying to their government 'not in my name', Israeli people wanting to live in peace and security as well, alongside the Palestinian people and, of course, Israeli people rightly wanting hostages released immediately too.'
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's emergency building.
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 terror groups.
In a July 24 video, Israel's army spokesman Avichay Adraee attacked Al Jazeera and accused Mr al-Sharif of being part of Hamas' military wing.
Al Jazeera has branded 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,' the broadcaster said in a statement.
Apart from rare invitations to observe Israeli military operations, international media have been barred from entering Gaza for the duration of the war. Al Jazeera is among the few outlets still fielding a big team of reporters inside the besieged strip, chronicling daily life amid air strikes and hunger.
Al Jazeera has suffered heavy losses during the war, including 27-year-old correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul and cameraman Rami al-Rifi, killed last summer, and freelancer Hossam Shabat, killed in an Israeli air strike in March.
Like Mr al-Sharif, Mr Shabat was among the six that Israel accused of being members of militant groups last October.
Hundreds of people, including many journalists, gathered on Monday to mourn Mr al-Sharif, Mr Qreiqeh and their colleagues.
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.
The journalists are the latest to be killed in what observers have called the deadliest conflict for journalists in modern times.
Israel's security cabinet backs plans to take over Gaza City
The Committee to Protect Journalists said on Monday that at least 192 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.
Mr Qreiqeh, a 33-year-old Gaza City native, is survived by two children.
Both journalists were separated from their families for months earlier in the war. When they managed to reunite during the ceasefire earlier this year, their children appeared unable to recognise them, according to video footage they posted at the time.
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.
Al Jazeera is blocked in Israel and soldiers raided its offices in the occupied West Bank last year.
Mr al-Sharif's death comes weeks after the Committee to Protect Journalists said Israel had targeted him with a smear campaign.
Irene Khan, the UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression, on July 31 said that the killings were 'part of a deliberate strategy of Israel to suppress the truth, obstruct the documentation of international crimes and bury any possibility of future accountability'.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said on Sunday that it was appalled by the strike.
'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.