Watch: Crowds of Gazans take to streets to mourn slain Al Jazeera journalists
Amid the silent weight of destruction, Gazans chanted prayers as they carried the slain journalists on their shoulders during the funeral procession.
Videos shared by Al Jazeera journalist Hassan Salem Gaza show the mourners remembering Anas Jamal Al Sharif, who was one of the prominent journalists from the enclave. Anas is survived by his wife and two children.
'With our soul and blood, we sacrifice for you, Anas.'
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A post shared by Hassan Salem | ØسÙ� ساÙ�Ù� (@hassan.salem.gaza)
The 28-year-old was among the five Al Jazeera journalists who died when a strike hit a tent near Shifa Hospital in eastern Gaza City, according to Gaza officials and the network.
Alongside Al Sharif, Mohamemd Qreiqeh, cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, Moamen Aliwa, and their assistant Mohammed Noufal were also killed.
A heartbreaking video shows Mohammed Qreiqeh's wife bidding a tearful farewell to her husband, as family members console her.
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A post shared by Hassan Salem | ØسÙ� ساÙ�Ù� (@hassan.salem.gaza)
Israel's military claimed Al Sharif was a Hamas cell leader, but rights advocates said Israel provided no evidence. Rights advocates, fellow journalists, and press freedom groups said he was targeted for his relentless frontline reporting, which made the war's devastation widely seen and deeply felt around the world.
Faithful were seen carrying out funeral prayers for the five journalists, who were wrapped in the Palestinian flag, with a press vest placed gently near one of them. On the front lines of the crowd stood fellow colleagues of the martyred reporters, wearing press vests themselves as they prayed for the ones who were out on the field beside them just hours before.
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A post shared by Hassan Salem | ØسÙ� ساÙ�Ù� (@hassan.salem.gaza)
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A post shared by Ahmed Hijazi اØÙ�د ØجازÙ� (@ahmedhijazee)
Another clip shows the site where the colleagues were killed - a resting tent for journalist inside Gaza's Al Shifa hospital.
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A post shared by Hassan Salem | ØسÙ� ساÙ�Ù� (@hassan.salem.gaza)
War on press
Gaza's 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.
Journalists' groups and Al Jazeera denounced the killings.
A press freedom group and a UN expert previously warned that Anas Sharif's life was in danger due to his reporting from Gaza. UN 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.
In a statement, the Committee to Protect Journalists, which in July urged the international community to protect Al Sharif, said Israel had failed to provide any evidence to back up its allegations against him.
'Israel's pattern of labeling journalists as militants 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.
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."
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.
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