Israel's targeting of Palestinian journalists in Gaza weakens its 'trust us' approach

Australia Broadcast Center

2 days ago

In a glossy document it prepared for the world's media to consume, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) laid out evidence it claimed justified the killing of a high-profile Palestinian journalist in Gaza.
But if the IDF expected that material to be swallowed without question, it was sorely mistaken — particularly given the targeting of journalists is a war crime under international law.
Scepticism regarding anything Israel has to say about its conduct in Gaza has spread far and wide. It's a phenomenon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself has realised, holding rare press conferences in recent days to target what he calls a "global campaign of lies" against Israel.
But the "trust us" mentality employed by Israeli authorities has long lost its power after 22 months of death and destruction in Gaza.
In the hours after the IDF killed Al Jazeera correspondent Anas Al-Sharif, described by his colleagues as one of the bravest journalists in Gaza, officials once again published documents claimed to link him with Hamas.
One of the records purportedly showed Al-Sharif was a Hamas "team commander" from 2013 to at least 2019. The other suggested he was paid $200 by Hamas in 2017.
A third item, said to be a Hamas phone directory, was also included.
The reproduced information was provided without any detail other than that it was "obtained during ground operations in Gaza at two separate locations", according to the IDF's international spokesperson on social media.
"What we have presented publicly is only a small, declassified portion of our intelligence on al-Sharif leading up to the strike," he posted.
Al-Sharif had always denied the allegations against him. Al Jazeera had too.
The way the IDF presented the information demanded those reading it to trust that it was accurate and genuine.
The Israeli military ratcheted up its allegations against Al-Sharif following the criticism of those documents, publishing photos of the journalist with senior Hamas members, including its former leader Yahya Sinwar.
Sinwar was killed by the Israeli forces in October 2024.
"Only a terrorist sits in the gatherings of terrorists," the IDF's Arabic spokesperson posted on X.
There was no information about where or when the photos were taken, or in what context Al-Sharif was seen with the Hamas officials. The IDF wouldn't comment.
The BBC reported Al-Sharif had done some work with Hamas's media unit prior to the war, but the ABC hasn't been able to confirm that.
Despite this, Israeli authorities provided no information to justify why other Al Jazeera journalists were killed in the same strike, which targeted a clearly marked media tent near the Al Shifa Hospital.
Their names are Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Moamen Aliwa and Mohammed Noufal.
Therein lies the problem.
Israel has faced repeated accusations it has deliberately targeted Palestinian journalists trying to tell the story of its war in Gaza — the few journalists able to report firsthand, given Israel bans all foreign media from independently accessing the strip.
Israel says the ban is for the safety of the international media.
In mid-2024 another Al Jazeera correspondent, Ismail Al-Ghoul, and his cameraman, Rami Al-Rifi, were killed in a strike by Israeli forces.
Again, the IDF claimed Al-Ghoul was a Hamas operative, but provided no detail about why Al-Rifi was targeted as well.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said the evidence Israel relied on to support its claim Al-Ghoul was a member of the militant group, which is a proscribed terrorist organisation under Australian law, was riddled with inconsistencies.
The records suggested Al-Ghoul was a ranking member of Hamas's military wing in 2007, when he was just 10 years old. But another line item said he had only been recruited in 2014, RSF said.
The organisation reported Israel's military had responded to its questions about the inconsistencies by saying it couldn't be held responsible for Hamas's shoddy record keeping.
The Committee to Protect Journalists says at least 186 journalists have been killed since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023. The UN puts that figure even higher at 242.
These are the people responsible for documenting death and destruction on a scale not seen by the world for decades, and showing the horrors of war Israel does not want beamed around the globe.
They have been the first on the scene when Israeli strikes have torn through schools and tent communities providing shelter to displaced Palestinians, and have seen the bodies of lifeless aid seekers shot whilst clamouring to secure food rushed past them into makeshift morgues.
For every journalist like Anas Al-Sharif, killed with a flimsy public dossier of evidence and following months of blatant threats and mockery directed at him by the IDF, many more have been targeted without any attempt at justification.
Israeli authorities reject almost all news coming out of Gaza as Hamas propaganda, despite refusing to allow foreign media in to do the work themselves.
It's a convenient position to take.
On Sunday, Netanyahu said he had directed the IDF to facilitate access to international press — but, as has been the case throughout the war, this would only be under the strict supervision of Israeli soldiers in designated areas.
These are highly controlled and choreographed missions, designed to show the world parts of Gaza Israel believes will shore up support for its offensive in the strip.
Last week, ABC News was granted access to one of these "embeds" for the first time since the war began — travelling just inside the Gaza border to an aid depot.
Nothing was seen of the destruction beyond its fences. For that, international organisations rely on Palestinians to help tell the story.
The "trust us" approach from Israel has been shown to be deeply flawed before.
In late 2023, the IDF published video of its then-chief spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari underneath the Rantisi Hospital in Gaza City.
One part of the video showed Hagari pointing to a calendar plastered on the wall which he said recorded guard shifts for Hamas terrorists.
Arabic speakers quickly picked up that the writing on the calendar translated to days of the week and not the names of any individuals — and the IDF said Hagari corrected the record soon after.
In March 2024, the IDF laid siege to the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City — the same compound which would be the site of Al-Shira's targeted killing almost 18 months later.
The IDF and domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet arrested hundreds at the site, including many doctors and health workers.
In the hours after the operation, the IDF released a collage of photos of 358 people it said it had detained — but was forced to issue a correction 14 hours later that due to a "human error" some of those featured had not actually been arrested.
In March 2025, the IDF faced scathing criticism for killing 15 Palestinian Red Crescent Society paramedics and emergency responders from Gaza's Civil Defense Agency in the south of the strip.
Israel's military had vehemently insisted the convoy of ambulances had approached troops without their emergency lights, prompting soldiers to open fire.
Days later, video recorded by one of the killed paramedics emerged refuting that. It showed red lights flashing as the group raced along a bombed-out road to help colleagues.
Israel continued to insist Hamas operatives were in the convoy, but only named one of them.
These are just three examples, and while very different to the circumstances surrounding the killing of Al-Sharif and his colleagues, they show why scepticism abounds.
Aside from attacking journalists having a chilling effect, there is the important issue of it being a crime under international law.
Additional protocols to the Geneva conventions, which outline humanitarian protections during wars, state that journalists covering wars are entitled to protection.
In the same way that Israel claims hospitals in Gaza, for example, lose their protected status under international law when used as shelters for combatants like Hamas, the IDF will argue journalists on the Hamas payroll are also fair targets.
But this is where the issue of the strength and plausibility of evidence once more comes to the fore. And it's where Israel is playing the role of judge, jury and executioner and demanding the international community back it in.
In addition to what Israel claims shows Al-Sharif was a Hamas operative, Israeli officials are also opposed to the operations of his employer, Al Jazeera.
Al Jazeera is one of the only news organisations broadcasting from Gaza around the world due to its network of correspondents there. Other outlets, such as the ABC, rely on freelancers to help gather stories and interviews.
Laws prevent Al Jazeera from operating in Israel, and it's been taken off the air. Local authorities argue the Qatari-based network it is a mouthpiece for terrorists, something Al Jazeera unsurprisingly and categorically denies.
There was an irony that in the early stages of the January ceasefire, while weekly hostage exchanges were taking place, Israeli television networks were relaying live broadcasts of Al Jazeera Arabic on their own channels.
The work of people like Anas Al-Sharif, reporting on the handover of hostages such as Agam Berger, was beamed across Israel at the same time as it was banned across Israel.
In Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, his reporting was shown on the big screen while Israelis gasped at the sight and spectacle Hamas made of the event.
It was work even Israelis wanted to see, while their government wanted it blocked. And it's work under serious threat if journalists continue to be targeted in future.