'The message will not stop': Palestinian reporters defiant after Israel kills six journalists
In one of the deadliest nights for the press since the war began, Israel killed five Palestinian journalists from Al Jazeera network, a sixth journalist and one other person.
'The message will not stop,' said Waleed Abdul Rahman, a journalist with Palestine TV, speaking to The National.
One of those killed was Al Jazeera's prominent correspondent Anas Al Sharif. Israel acknowledged the strike that killed the group of seven, saying it targeted Mr Al Sharif after accusing him of being a member of Hamas.
The deaths bring the number of journalists killed by Israel since the war began in October 2023, following the Hamas-led attack, to more than 180, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.
Mr Abdul Rahman noted the timing of the attack coincided with an imminent ground occupation of Gaza city. 'It confirms the occupation's premeditated intention to commit crimes and its fear of being exposed by journalists,' he explained.
Journalist Wadie Abu Al Soud described the victims as 'an imprint of the Palestinian narrative that travelled across the world without compromise', covering a war that has shifted from fighting Hamas to starving an entire population and preparing to take over their land.
Palestinian narrative
Momen Qreiqa, another journalist in Gaza, compared the killings to political intimidation elsewhere in the world: 'This assassination is no different from threatening to prosecute newspapers simply for publishing the occupation's crimes and the famine in Gaza. It is about silencing truth-tellers.'
Journalist groups in Gaza have been urging the International Federation of Journalists, the Arab Journalists Union and other press bodies to take immediate action.
For those who knew Anas, Mohammed and their fallen colleagues, the grief is deep, but so is their determination.
'The occupation wants to silence the message. But nothing will stop the message. The Palestinian narrative will continue to reach the world,' stressed Mr Abdul Rahman.
Islam El Zanoon of Palestine TV echoed the sentiment, saying the deadly strike was 'a painful but unsurprising tragedy'.
'We know that a press vest cannot protect us from Israeli missiles,' she told The National. "We are part of the siege and the killing. Foreign journalists must be brought in to help Palestinian journalists continue this coverage."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Middle East Eye
2 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Organisations in Gaza plead for international help after Netanyahu threatens to seize Gaza City
The Gaza Municipality, the Chambers of Commerce in the Gaza Strip, and the Coordinating Council of Private Sector Institutions are pleading for urgent international action to halt Israel's war in Gaza before Gaza City is destroyed, Al Jazeera reported on Monday. The statement called on the United Nations, the International Court of Justice, and countries to act immediately and demand an end to Israel's war after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday that he intended to to seize control of Gaza City and the remainder of the Gaza Stip. The groups warned of a 'grave threat' to Gaza City's inhabitants, heritage, and infrastructure if international organisations and countries do not act immediately, 'Enough killing and bloodshed … Enough destruction and ruin,' the statement read. 'We want life and we deserve it'. The statement also urged media organisations to increase coverage to ensure the detruction of Gaza City does not happen under the cover of silence. . Gaza City was home to three quarters of a million people before the war.
Middle East Eye
6 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
BBC condemned for repeating Israeli narrative on slain journalist Anas al-Sharif
BBC's reporting on the killing of several Palestinian journalists in Gaza has been on the receiving end of fierce criticism, with thousands on social media saying the broadcaster is 'parroting the Israeli narrative'. Late on Sunday local time, prominent Al Jazeera correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh were killed in a drone strike on a press tent near al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. The strike also took the lives of Al Jazeera staff Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa, as well as freelance journalist Mohammed al-Khalidi. While many around the world mourned their losses, the BBC's coverage of the slain journalists received backlash for repeating Israel's accusation that Sharif had a "dual role" as "journalist and terrorist". Israel has routinely made such claims about journalists, which have been strongly rejected by the Committee to Protect Journalists. One social media user suggested that this was a character assassination, right after Israel killed him. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters "Lets bring in our colleague Yolande Knell who is in Jerusalem. The accusation from Israel is that Anas al Sharif had a dual role, he was both in their words journalist and terrorist..." The IDF assassinated him. Now the BBC assassinates his character. — Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) August 11, 2025 In another report, a BBC news anchor said, 'Israel says Anas Al-Sharif was a member of Hamas, a claim long rejected by the news network, his family, and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).' For many on social media, the news anchor adding the fact that Al Jazeera and the CPJ rejected these claims was not enough, with one saying, 'the BBC stooped so low it should be banned from broadcasting after parroting the Israeli narrative.' The @BBC just stooped so low it should be banned from broadcasting after parroting the Israeli narrative about murdered @AnasAlSharif0 — Sarah Wilkinson (@swilkinsonbc) August 10, 2025 The BBC's coverage also ignited criticism of many other western media outlets. Many on social media suggested that media outlets that remained silent while Israel continued its assaults on Gaza for 21 months were 'complicit' in the "genocidal machine". One social media user compiled headlines from western media outlets, in which the German Bild magazine wrote, 'Journalist in disguise as terrorists killed in Gaza'. Anas a beacon of light, killed by cowards to hide their crimes. You never stood when they threatened him for telling the truth#Reuters, #Bild, #Sky, #BBC & all other apologists/propagandists for a genocidal machine you're complicit We will never forget. We will never forgive — Osama Bin Javaid (@osamabinjavaid) August 11, 2025 Others praised Sharif for standing 'unbowed before Zionism, exposing Israel's war crimes with integrity and honour'. In one social media post, a person shared a screenshot from the BBC, saying: 'Anas Al-Sharif worked for a Hamas media team in Gaza before the current conflict.' The person wrote, 'The BBC has repeatedly abandoned the core principles of journalism, choosing to support the genocide rather than report the truth about its victims.' The BBC (@BBC) insists on adopting the Israeli narrative, falsely claiming that Anas Al-Sharif was affiliated with Hamas. Al-Sharif was broadcasting and reporting the genocide in #Gaza live, day in and day out—and for that, he was deliberately killed. The BBC does not shy away… — Sahat English 🇵🇸 (@sahatenglish) August 11, 2025 According to Gaza's government media office, Israel has killed 238 Palestinian journalists since the start of the war in October 2023. Over 61,000 Palestinians have been killed in the enclave, and starvation is looming, with more than 200 dead from hunger. Rights groups and press freedom advocates have described the war in Gaza as the deadliest conflict for journalists in modern history while human rights groups, scholars and some countries quantify it as a genocide.
The National
6 hours ago
- The National
US victims of Hamas and Hezbollah attacks sue UN Palestinian aid agency
A group of US citizens who are victims or relatives of victims of Hamas or Hezbollah attacks has filed a lawsuit against the UN Palestinian aid agency, accusing it of promoting terrorism. Filed in a Washington district court last week, the lawsuit takes aim at UNRWA, whose US offices are based in the capital. The 200 plaintiffs included in the lawsuit say UNRWA has breached US anti-terrorism laws by "collectively and collaboratively" helping to provide funds and other support to Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Hezbollah, all of which the US has designated as foreign terrorist organisations. UNRWA condemned the lawsuit, calling it "baseless" and part of a "co-ordinated campaign" to distract from the agency's goal of providing aid to Palestinians. "The continued regurgitation of false claims isn't about concern or due diligence or any new information; it's about weaponising misinformation to dismantle a life-saving institution precisely because of its central role in keeping Palestinian refugees and the hope of Palestinian freedom and self-determination alive," UNRWA said in a media release. "This action is part of a broader effort to weaponise the legal system against those who dare to care." According to the lawsuit, the support allowed the groups to "build up the necessary terror infrastructure and to recruit, indoctrinate, radicalise, train and/or compensate many of those who have carried out terrorist attacks throughout Israel". The lawsuit also accuses the agency of employing staff who the plaintiffs allege were directly involved in terror attacks. Many of the allegations stem from the Hamas attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which began the Israel-Gaza war. One of the plaintiffs, the Mathias family, is suing on behalf of Deborah Mathias and her husband, Shlomi Mathias, who were killed by Hamas, according to the lawsuit. "This is a case seeking justice and accountability against an entity that holds itself out as 'humanitarian' but which has utterly failed in its mission and purpose while unconscionably providing material support for terror," Richard Heideman, lead counsel for the plaintiffs, told ABC News. The plaintiffs seek unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. The lawsuit follows a similar one filed last year in New York. The UN agency has long been a target of the Israeli government, particularly after the October 7 attacks, in which Israel claimed - without providing evidence - that UNRWA employees had taken part. The US in 2024 cut funding to UNRWA over the allegations. In January, Israel announced its decision to shut down the UNRWA offices in occupied East Jerusalem, saying it was cutting all ties with the aid agency.
