Anas al-Sharif: Four Al Jazeera journalists killed near Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City
The IDF did not mention any of the other journalists who were killed. The BBC has contacted Al Jazeera for comment.Al-Sharif, 28, appeared to be posting on X in the moments before his death, warning of intense Israeli bombardment within Gaza City.A post which was published after he was reported to have died appears to have been pre-written and published by a friend.In July, the Al Jazeera Media Network issued a statement denouncing "relentless efforts" by the IDF for an "ongoing campaign of incitement targeting Al Jazeera's correspondents and journalists in the Gaza Strip"."The Network considers this incitement a dangerous attempt to justify the targeting of its journalists in the field," it added.The IDF statement accused al-Sharif of posing as a journalist, and being "responsible for advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops"It said it had previously "disclosed intelligence" confirming his military affiliation, which included "lists of terrorist training courses"."Prior to the strike, steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians, including the use of precise munition, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence," the statement added.According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 186 journalists have been confirmed killed since the start of Israel's military offensive in Gaza in October 2023.
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The Independent
24 minutes ago
- The Independent
TIFF pulls documentary on 2023 Hamas attack from festival lineup, citing footage rights issue
The Toronto International Film Festival has pulled from its lineup a documentary on Hamas ' 2023 attack into Israel over what the festival says was a footage rights issue. Organizers for the festival acknowledged Tuesday that they withdrew Canadian filmmaker Barry Avrich's 'The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue' after initially offering the film a spot in the upcoming edition of TIFF. The film chronicles the story of retired Israeli Gen. Noam Tibon, whose efforts to save his family and others during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack was profiled in a '60 Minutes' segment. Representatives for the festival said in a statement that the film's invitation 'was withdrawn by TIFF because general requirements for inclusion in the festival, and conditions that were requested when the film was initially invited, were not met, including legal clearance of all footage.' 'The purpose of the requested conditions was to protect TIFF from legal implications and to allow TIFF to manage and mitigate anticipated and known risks around the screening of a film about highly sensitive subject matter, including potential threat of significant disruption,' the festival said. The filmmakers, though, say the festival is engaging in 'censorship' by denying the film a place in the festival. 'We are shocked and saddened that a venerable film festival has defied its mission and censored its own programming by refusing this film," the filmmaking team said in a statement. 'Ultimately, film is an art form that stimulates debate from every perspective that can both entertain us and make us uncomfortable.' Deadline, which first reported the news, reported that a sticking point related to the identification and legal clearance of Hamas militants' own livestreaming of the attack. Festival organizers didn't respond to requests for further comment Wednesday. The filmmakers pledged to release the film regardless: 'We invite audiences, broadcasters and streamers to make up their own mind, once they have seen it.' The Toronto International Film Festival has sometimes prompted headlines over its selections. Last year, it canceled screenings of 'Russians at War,' a documentary about Russian soldiers in the war with Ukraine. Protesters in Toronto called the film Russian propaganda. After the festival paused screenings due to 'significant threats,' 'Russians at War' was quietly screened toward the end of the festival. The 50th Toronto International Film Festival runs Sept. 4–14.
Sky News
38 minutes ago
- Sky News
A father criticised the use of airdrops in Gaza. Five days later, he was killed by a falling pallet
Why you can trust Sky News Five days before he was killed by a falling aid package, father-of-two Uday al Qaraan called on world leaders to open Gaza's borders to food - and criticised the use of airdrops. "This isn't aid delivery," said the 32-year-old medic as a crowd of children rummaged through the remains of an airdrop behind him. "This is humiliation." Using footage from social media, satellite imagery, eyewitness testimony and flight tracking data, Sky News has examined the dangers posed by airdrops - and just how little difference they are making to Gaza's hunger crisis. A tangled parachute and a crowd in chaos Based on six videos of the airdrop that killed Uday, we were able to locate the incident to a tent camp on the coast of central Gaza. We determined that the drop occurred at approximately 11.50am on 4 August, based on metadata from these videos shared by three eyewitnesses. Flight tracking data shows that only one aid plane, a UAE Armed Forces C-130 Hercules, was in the area at that time. Footage from the ground shows 12 pallets falling from the plane. The four lowest parachutes soon become tangled, and begin to fall in pairs. As a crowd surges towards the landing zone, a gunshot rings out. Nine more follow over a 90-second period. Sakhr al Qaraan, an eyewitness and Uday's neighbour, says that Uday was among those running after the first pallet to land. "He didn't see the other pallet it was tangled up with, and it fell on him moments later," says Sakhr. "People ran to collect the aid in cold blood, devoid of humanity, and he suffocated under that damned blanket - under the feet of people who had lost all humanity." The scene descended into chaos as Palestinians, some armed, tussled over the limited food available. By the time Uday was pulled from the crowd and rushed to hospital, it was too late. The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to a request for comment. Parachutes failed in half of airdrops analysed This was not the first time that airdrops at this location had posed a threat to those on the ground. The day before Uday was killed, the same plane had dropped aid over the site. The footage below, shared by the UAE Armed Forces, shows the view from inside the plane. Just before the footage ends, it shows that one of the parachutes was broken. Hisham al Armi recorded the scene from the ground. His video shows the broken parachute, as well as another that had failed completely. Military planes dropped aid at the site on eight consecutive days between 30 July and 6 August. Sky News verified footage showing parachute failures during four of those eight airdrops. Flight tracking data shows that almost all of the 67 aid flights over that period followed a similar route along the coast, which is densely packed with tent camps. An Israel Defence Forces (IDF) official told Sky News that the airdrops are routed along the coast, because this is where much of Gaza's population is now concentrated. An IDF spokesperson added the Israeli military "takes all possible measures to mitigate the harm to uninvolved civilians". Hisham al Armi told Sky News he is grateful to the countries that donated the aid, but "the negatives outweigh the positives". "Fighting occurs when aid is dropped, and some people are killed ... due to the crush and parachutes." Other dangers are also posed by the airdrops. The footage below, taken on 29 July, shows Palestinians venturing into the sea in order to chase aid that had drifted over the water. The IDF has banned Palestinians from entering the sea. One woman, a relative of Uday who witnessed his death, described the airdrops as the "airborne humiliation of the people". "There is not enough aid for them," she said. "It creates problems among the people, and some are killed just to obtain a little aid. And most people don't receive any aid, they remain hungry for days." Between 27 July and 1 August, Gaza received an estimated 1,505 tonnes of food aid per day via land routes - 533 tonnes short of what the UN's food security agency says is needed to meet basic needs. Based on flight tracking data, we estimated that airdrops added just 38 tonnes daily, 7% of the shortfall. "The quantities involved are minuscule in terms of the scale of the need," says Sam Rose, Gaza director of UNRWA, the UN agency previously responsible for distributing food in the territory. UNRWA claims it has enough food stationed outside of Gaza to feed the population for three months, but that Israel has not allowed the agency to bring in any food since 2 March. "We should be dealing with that rather than introducing something else which is costly, dangerous, undignified and somehow legitimises ... the access regime by suggesting that we found a way round it through airdrops," Rose says. COGAT, the Israeli agency responsible for coordinating aid deliveries, referred Sky News to a statement in which it said there is "no limit on the amount of aid" allowed into Gaza. An IDF spokesperson also denied restricting aid, and said the Israeli military "will continue to work in order to improve the humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip, along with the international community". In his interview five days before he was killed, Uday al Qaraan appealed to world leaders to open Gaza's borders. "What would happen if they just let the aid in?" he asked. "If you can fly planes and drop aid from the sky then you can break the siege, you can open a land crossing."
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Toronto film festival 'pulls October 7 documentary because Hamas did not give permission to use bodycam footage'
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has pulled a documentary about the October 7 massacre because Hamas did not give organisers permission to use bodycam footage shot by the terrorists, according to Israeli media. The festival was set to show 'The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue', directed by Barry Avrich, which follows the story of retired IDF general Noam Tibon during and after the attack that saw around 1,200 people killed and 251 taken hostage. Israel 's Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa'ar, has slammed the organisers, and likened cancelling the film due to a lack of Hamas 'clearance' to asking for Adolf Hitler's approval for Auschwitz footage, reported i24NEWS. The festival had originally approved the film, which follows Tibon on his mission to save his son, his wife and two daughters as they were attacked by Hamas-led terrorists at their home on Kibbutz Nahal Oz on October 7. The documentary uses bodycam footage filmed by the terrorists themselves during the massacre, which was the single deadliest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust. The film was pulled by TIFF due to the prospect of disruptive anti-Israel protests at the festival, which will run from September 4-14, as well as concerns about copyright, Deadline reported. 'The invitation for the Canadian documentary film "The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue" was withdrawn by TIFF because general requirements for inclusion in the festival, and conditions that were requested when the film was initially invited, were not met, including legal clearance of all footage,' the organisers said in a statement. 'The purpose of the requested conditions was to protect TIFF from legal implications and to allow TIFF to manage and mitigate anticipated and known risks around the screening of a film about highly sensitive subject matter, including potential threat of significant disruption. 'As per our terms and conditions for participation in the festival, 'TIFF may disqualify from participation in the Festival any Film that TIFF determines in its sole and absolute discretion would not be in TIFF's best interest to include in the Festival.' Tibon, an ex-IDF general and a staunch critic of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial overhaul, drove from his Tel Aviv home to southern Israel on the morning of October 7 to help the communities attacked on the border. Since that day, he has been vocal about his opposition to the Israeli government. The filmmaking team behind the documentary told Deadline: 'We are shocked and saddened that a venerable film festival has defied its mission and censored its own programming by refusing this film. 'Ultimately, film is an art form that stimulates debate from every perspective that can both entertain us and make us uncomfortable. 'A film festival lays out the feast and the audience decides what they will or won't see. 'We are not political filmmakers, nor are we activists; we are storytellers. We remain defiant, we will release the film, and we invite audiences, broadcasters, and streamers to make up their own mind, once they have seen it.' Reacting to the film's cancelation, the documentary's subject Tibon said it was 'absurd and outrageous'. The documentary follows the story of retired IDF general Noam Tibon during and after the attack that saw around 1,200 people killed and 251 taken hostage 'The Toronto festival surrendered to pressure and threats, choosing to silence and erase October 7. 'Barry Avrich's documentary tells a human, not political, story, documenting the grim reality of Israel's darkest day. The claim that it cannot be screened because it lacks "usage rights" for Hamas footage from that day is absurd and outrageous - and an insult to the victims. 'Freedom of expression is the courage to present and hear challenging content, even if it is uncomfortable for some audiences.' Last year, TIFF received backlash from Ukrainian activists because of its antiwar documentary 'Russians at War', which was labelled Russian propaganda by its critics. The festival cancelled the film's screening before showing it days later with heightened security. Pro-Palestinian activists also disrupted Israeli filmmaker Shemi Zarhin's film, 'Hamada', while Israeli demonstrators, critical of the government, picketed Alexandra Bloom's screening of 'The Bibi Files' about Netanyahu using leaked interrogation footage. 'The Road Between Us' was originally invited to play at TIFF subject to certain conditions, including changing its name from 'Out of Nowhere: The Ultimate Rescue', and getting legal clearance to use footage filmed and livestreamed by Hamas terrorists, Deadline reported. The filmmakers were asked to confirm clearance of the footage, provide a letter of indemnification - legally accepting liability for any copyright violations - as well as well provide added security for the screening. When the documentary team reportedly did not comply with the conditions, producers got an email formally uninviting the film from the festival by TIFF boss Cameron Bailey on August 12.
