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Saudi Gazette
4 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
Anas Al-Sharif — The face of the war in Gaza for millions
JERUSALEM — As a ceasefire in Gaza took hold in January, Anas Al-Sharif began removing his protective gear live on television, piece by piece, while a jubilant crowd cheered, hoping the day marked the end of the suffering of 2 million Palestinians in the enclave. Nearly seven months later, Israel killed the Al Jazeera journalist and four of his colleagues in a strike in Gaza City. One of the most well-known Palestinian journalists in Gaza – and one of dozens to be killed by Israel during the war – Al-Sharif's death has ignited international condemnation and calls for accountability. The 28-year-old rose to prominence as the face of the Gaza story for millions while Israel has blocked international media outlets from accessing the territory. Little known before the war, he quickly turned into a household name in the Arab world for his daily coverage of the conflict and its humanitarian toll. His reports provided first-hand accounts of critical moments in the conflict, including the short-lived ceasefires in the territory, the release of Israeli hostages and harrowing stories of the starvation that have shocked the world. Al Jazeera recruited Al-Sharif in December 2023 after his social media footage of Israeli strikes in his hometown of Jabalya went viral. Then a professional cameraman, he was initially reluctant to appear on air but was persuaded by colleagues to front his reports, an experience he called 'indescribable.' 'I had never even appeared on a local channel let alone an international one,' he was cited as saying in the Sotour media outlet in February. 'The person who was happiest was my late father.' His father was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Jabalya shortly after Al-Sharif began appearing on Al Jazeera. A father of two, he appeared on the channel nearly every day since he started his job. 'We (journalists) slept in hospitals, in streets, in vehicles, in ambulances, in displacement shelters, in warehouses, with displaced people. I slept in 30 to 40 different places,' he told the outlet. After he took off his protective gear on air in January, crowds lifted him on their shoulders in celebration. 'I am taking off the helmet that tired me, and this armor that has become an extension of my body,' he said live on Al Jazeera at the time as he paid tribute to colleagues killed and injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza. Al-Sharif's reports attracted the attention of the Israeli military, which, he claimed, warned him to stop his work for Al Jazeera, a network that had already lost several staff members to Israeli actions in Gaza, including Ismail Al Ghoul, killed last year, and Hossam Shabat, killed in March. 'At the end, (the Israeli military) sent me voice notes on my WhatsApp number... an intelligence officer told me... 'you have minutes to leave the location you are in, go to the south, and stop reporting for Al Jazeera'... I was reporting from a hospital live.' 'Minutes later, the room I was reporting from was struck,' he said. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) didn't respond to CNN's request for comment. Israel first accused Al-Sharif of being linked to Hamas 10 months ago. Why it decided to target him now is unclear. In a statement confirming his targeted killing, the IDF accused Al-Sharif of leading a Hamas cell in Gaza that orchestrated 'rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF forces.' In October 2024, the Israeli military published documents it claimed showed 'unequivocal proof' of Al-Sharif's ties to Hamas and named five other Al Jazeera journalists who it said were part of the militant group. An Israeli army spokesperson said in a video on X that Al-Sharif joined a Hamas battalion in 2013, and was injured in training in 2017, an accusation denied by the journalist himself and Irene Khan, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression. 'I reaffirm: I, Anas Al-Sharif, am a journalist with no political affiliations. My only mission is to report the truth from the ground – as it is, without bias,' he wrote last month. 'At a time when a deadly famine is ravaging Gaza, speaking the truth has become, in the eyes of the occupation, a threat.' Following the journalist's killing, the IDF's Arabic spokesperson published several pictures of Al-Sharif with Yahya Sinwar, the late Hamas leader who is believed to have masterminded the October 7, 2023 attack that left around 1,200 people in Israel dead and roughly 250 more taken hostage. Israel killed Sinwar in October 2024. Al-Sharif was in a tent with other journalists near the entrance to the Al-Shifa Hospital when he was killed on Sunday, according to hospital director Dr. Mohammad Abu Salmiya. The tent was marked with a 'Press' sign, Abu Salmiya told CNN. The strike killed at least seven people, Salmiya added. Al Jazeera said correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and photojournalists Ibrahim Al Thaher and Moamen Aliwa were also killed in the strike, as well as Mohammed Noufal, another staff member. Al-Sharif's killing prompted condemnations from rights groups and officials. The Committee to Protect Journalists said it was 'appalled,' adding that Israel has 'a longstanding, documented pattern of accusing journalists of being terrorists without providing any credible proof.' The CPJ said 192 journalists have been killed since the beginning of the war nearly two years ago, adding: '184 of those journalists are Palestinians killed by Israel.' Since the start of the war, Israel has not allowed international journalists to enter Gaza to report independently. Just hours before the strike that killed Al-Sharif and his colleagues, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said foreign journalists would now be allowed into Gaza, but only with Israeli military approval and accompanied by them, the same embed policy that has been in place since the beginning of the war. Al Jazeera, based in Qatar, is one of the few global news outlets broadcasting live from Gaza during the conflict, unlike others that primarily rely on local freelance journalists. As one of the most watched channels in the Arab world, its continuous coverage of Gaza has drawn a significant viewership among Palestinians and Arabic-speaking audiences. The network's YouTube channel has more than 21 million subscribers and nearly 16 billion views, with a live stream that attracts millions of viewers Al-Sharif gained prominence in the network as many of its well-known journalists in Gaza were killed or injured by Israeli strikes. Wael Al Dahdouh, the former Gaza bureau chief, was evacuated to Qatar after sustaining injuries and having most of his family killed. Al-Sharif then emerged as a roving reporter across Gaza, providing Al Jazeera with live updates from the north of the enclave. He also regularly posted videos on his Telegram channel highlighting the toll of the war on Palestinians. Last year, Israel banned the Al Jazeera from operating in the country under a sweeping new wartime law that allows the Israeli government to ban foreign media organizations it deems 'harmful' to the nation's security. Al-Sharif was buried in Gaza on Monday in a funeral that attracted large crowds of Palestinian mourners. Anticipating his own death, Al-Sharif had written a will that was released by his colleagues after he was killed. '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... If I die, I die steadfast upon my principles,' he wrote. 'Do not forget Gaza ... and do not forget me in your sincere prayers for forgiveness and acceptance.' — CNN
Saudi Gazette
9 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
Europe frozen out as US and Russia prepare for Alaska talks
BRUSSELS — Europe's sidelining from the Alaska meeting of US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin means the continent's been frozen out of a meeting critical to its security, according to EU law professor Alberto Alemanno. The proposed Alaska meeting will be the first in-person meeting between the US and Russian presidents since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia. But there are no plans for European leaders to attend, raising questions about the heft of EU diplomacy on the world stage. For Alemanno, EU law professor at HEC in Paris, this is a clear sign that Europe is being left on the sidelines. "The Alaska meeting may offer yet another moment of truth for Europe because the European Union finds itself on the sidelines in what could be the most consequential peace effort since the war began, with Trump and Putin set to meet without any European leader officially invited to the table," Alemanno said. The professor added that Europe is now concentrating efforts on obtaining a place at the negotiation table for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But recent US threats to pull financing from Ukraine's defence efforts make Europe cautious and conciliatory, the professor said. "The EU seems to lack leverage in actually inviting the US to be invited or to be heard, simply because we heard from Vice President Vance that the US is ready to give up its support for Ukraine unless the European Union steps in. In a way, the European leaders are caught between a rock and a hard place. If they show too much commitment towards Ukraine, they might end up being alone, but if they let it go, Ukraine is going to get a very bad deal," he said. The professor added that Europe accepts subjugation with a view to obtaining security guarantees from Trump. "This is extremely tricky and frustrating to see for millions of Europeans who would like to see their European leaders speak with a louder voice instead of accepting, yet again, more impositions, more intimidations, more subjugation to this US administration in a moment in which this negotiation could fundamentally reshape European security without meaningful European input." Jacob Kirkegaard, an expert at the Bruegel think tank, agrees that Europe is paying the price for its relative weakness on defence. "We are paying the price of our inability to defend ourselves and our inability to adequately support Ukraine. And that means that when you don't have actual power, you will not be invited to this meeting," Kirkegaard said. He added that even if Trump and Putin come to terms, these cannot be implemented against the will of Ukraine and Europe. Kirkegaard also said any deal that might harm the security interests of Europe would damage NATO. Kierkegaard said that if the US - as the principal security power of NATO - signs a deal advantageous to NATO's direct military antagonist Russia, "then NATO is dead, finished... it's buried and it's over". "Our problem is that we are not capable... to deter Russia on our own," he added. Ahead of the talks, Donald Trump said that a ceasefire deal might involve the exchange of territories between Ukraine and Russia, a suggestion roundly rejected by Zelenskyy and strongly resisted by European leaders in a statement issued on Sunday. The EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas, convened a snap, informal virtual meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday to discuss the situation. — Euronews
Asharq Al-Awsat
10 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Regional Shifts Loom over Larijani's Talks in Baghdad
Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani began a regional tour on Monday with a visit to Baghdad, holding talks with senior Iraqi officials and signing a memorandum of understanding on border security — though Iraq denied the deal amounted to a full security agreement. Larijani met Iraq's National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji, President Abdul Latif Rashid, and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. The visit included the signing of a memorandum to coordinate border security, which Sudani oversaw. But an Iraqi security source told Asharq al-Awsat the deal was 'only a memorandum of understanding, similar to dozens signed with other countries,' dismissing Larijani's earlier comments to Iranian media that a formal security agreement had been prepared. 'This visit is not a surprise as some outlets claimed — it was planned in advance,' the source said. The trip is Larijani's first official foreign visit since returning to his post and will be followed by a stop in Lebanon. 'We will meet many friends in Iraq from different political currents, listen to their views and share ideas for bilateral cooperation,' Larijani told Iranian media en route to Baghdad. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said the 'sensitive circumstances' in the region required intensified consultations with regional states to safeguard peace and stability in West Asia. An Iraqi security source said talks also covered the security situation in the Middle East and arrangements linked to the Arbaeen pilgrimage, which has brought tens of thousands of Iranians to Iraq. A separate source told Asharq al-Awsat Larijani planned to visit the holy city of Najaf on Monday evening and could meet Grand Ali al-Sistani — though such a meeting was not certain, as Sistani declined to receive Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during his September 2024 visit. The source declined to say whether Larijani's trip aimed to ease tensions between Sudani and some armed factions after a recent exchange of statements that unsettled the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Shi'ite parties and armed groups. The row coincides with the parliament's failure to pass legislation on the Popular Mobilization Forces, blamed by lawmakers on US pressure. Political analysts in Baghdad believe Larijani will meet leaders of armed factions and Coordination Framework figures in an effort to calm disputes, particularly as Iran-aligned groups face what they describe as mounting US pressure that could pave the way for Israeli strikes. 'The timing is crucial for Iran, which appears to be preparing for the possibility of renewed conflict with the United States and Israel,' said Ihsan al-Shammari, head of the Iraqi Political Thinking Center. 'Tehran is seeking to bolster alliances with friendly political forces in Baghdad as Washington pushes to dismantle armed groups and curb Iranian influence in Iraq and Lebanon.' Shammari said the visit also comes amid 'unprecedented public divisions within the Shi'ite political camp' — a development that works against Tehran's interests and may prompt it to freeze disputes for now. 'It's important for Iran, but less so for Iraq, given the US pressure to end Iranian influence,' he added. Eiyad al-Anbar, a political science professor at al-Nahrain University, said Tehran was trying to reorganize its influence in its so-called 'Axis of Resistance' states. 'Iran wants to signal it still wields strong political and security leverage in Lebanon and Iraq, where the disarmament debate is heating up,' he said. 'By linking the Popular Mobilization Forces to broader political messaging, Iran is telling the outside world: we remain powerful and must be factored into any future arrangement,' added al-Anbar.
