Israel's deadly strike on Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza condemned

News.com.au

14 hours ago

The deaths of five journalists by an Israeli airstrike near a hospital in Gaza has ignited global fury, as hundreds of Palestinians carried their bodies through the streets of the city.
Prominent Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif and four of his colleagues – correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa – were killed in the strike on a tent for journalists outside al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Sunday. Hospital director Mohammed Abu Salmiya said a sixth journalist, freelance reporter Mohammed al-Khaldi, was also killed in the assault.
The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) admitted it had targeted Sharif, claiming he was a 'terrorist' affiliated with Hamas who 'posed as a journalist' – an allegation previously refuted by Sharif, the Qatari broadcaster and UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan as baseless.
The military released documents alleging to show the date of Sharif's enlistment with Hamas in 2013, an injury report from 2017 and the name of his unit and rank.
Describing Sharif as 'one of Gaza's bravest journalists', Al Jazeera led condemnations of the attack, 'a desperate attempt to silence voices in anticipation of the occupation of Gaza'.
'Anas al-Sharif and his colleagues were among the last remaining voices in Gaza conveying the tragic reality to the world,' it said.
According to local journalists who knew him, Sharif had worked at the start of his career with a Hamas communication office, where his role was to publicise events organised by the group that has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2006.
The 28-year-old was one of Al Jazeera's most recognisable faces working on the ground in Gaza, providing daily reports on the now 22-month-old war.
A posthumous message, written by Sharif in April in case of his death, was published on his X account on Monday.
'If these words reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice,' Sharif wrote, urging people 'not to forget Gaza'.
'I have lived through pain in all its details, tasted suffering and loss many times, yet I never once hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification.'
'It is a war crime'
Dozens of Gazans stood amid bombed-out buildings in the courtyard of the hospital on Monday to pay their respects to the reporters.
Mourners – including men wearing blue journalists' flak jackets – carried their bodies, wrapped in white shrouds with their faces exposed, through Gaza City's narrow alleys to their graves.
Media freedom groups – including Australia's journalists' union, the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) – spoke out against the attack, which the United Nations human rights agency called a 'grave breach of international humanitarian law'.
'Israel's pattern of labelling journalists as militants without providing credible evidence raises serious questions about its intent and respect for freedom,' the Committee to Protect Journalists' (CPJ) director for the Middle East and North Africa, Sara Qudah, said.
The CPJ had called for Sharif's protection in July following online posts by an Israeli military spokesperson.
'International law is clear that active combatants are the only justified targets in a war setting,' CPJ's chief executive, Jodie Ginsberg, told AFP on Monday.
Unless Israel 'can demonstrate that Anas al-Sharif was still an active combatant, then there is no justification for his killing'.
In its own statement, the MEAA said the deaths were the culmination of 'a long smear campaign of unsubstantiated allegations against al-Sharif and other journalists'.
'As Al Jazeera has said, this was a 'dangerous attempt to justify the targeting of journalists in the field',' the MEAA said.
'Tragically, these warnings have now come to fruition. The targets of journalists is a blatant attack on press freedom, and it is also a war crime. It must stop.'
Reporters Without Borders said nearly 200 journalists have been killed in the war, which was sparked by Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel prevents international reporters from entering Gaza, except on occasional tightly-controlled trips with the military.
A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his government is 'gravely concerned by the repeated targeting of journalists in Gaza'.
'Reporters covering conflicts are afforded protection under international humanitarian law and journalists must be able to report independently without fear, and Israel must ensure journalists can carry out their work safely,' they said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for 'an independent and impartial investigation into these latest killings'.
'Journalists and media workers must be respected, they must be protected and they must be allowed to carry out their work freely, free from fear and free from harassment,' his spokesperson said.