Dad wrongly pronounced dead after 2014 Israeli bombing killed in airstrike, family says
Ahmed Al Dali was killed on Monday in an attack on the city of Khan Younis in the southern area of the besieged enclave, the Gaza Sunbirds team said.
The 33-year-old father-of-four lost his leg in 2014 after an Israeli bombing in Gaza. At the time, he was initially pronounced dead and placed in a morgue, before his body was reassessed and his family discovered he was still alive.
In a post on Instagram, the Gaza Sunbirds said they were "devastated" by Mr Dali's death, adding: "We are heartbroken. But we are also furious. This cannot continue."
Mr Dali turned to para-sport "to prove that disability is not inability," the team said. He played para-football and then became one of the first amputee members of the Gaza Sunbirds para-cycling squad in 2022.
Mr Dali's cousin, Alaa Al Dali, a co-founder and team captain of Gaza Sunbirds, said on Monday: "Ahmed survived the missile that took his leg in 2014, but today a second missile took his life.
"When we first started this journey, Ahmed was by my side. He was a great person filled with positivity and a love for sport. Today his life ended. It breaks my heart to have to continue our journey without him but we will keep going for all those who we lost during this genocide."
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Karim Ali, co-founder and team manager of Gaza Sunbirds, said: "Ahmed's courage on the bike was matched only by his devotion to his children and his community."
He added: "Our team is witnessing civilians being killed daily, the supply of weapons from international governments needs to stop. As a team working tirelessly to deliver aid over the last 16 months, there is nothing more we can do. It is time for real change. We don't want to lose more people."
The Gaza Sunbirds formed in 2020 and have been working during Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza to distribute $450,000 (£337,000) worth of aid across the strip.
Israel launches new major offensive
It comes after Israeli strikes on Gaza overnight and into Tuesday hit a family home and a school that was being used as a shelter, killing at least 60 people, according to Palestinian health officials.
Israel has launched another major offensive in the territory with the aim of returning dozens of hostages still being held by Hamas and destroying the militant group.
More than 300 people have been killed in the latest onslaught, the officials said.
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Israel has agreed to allow a limited amount of aid into the territory, where around two million people live. It follows a two-and-a-half-month blockade that prevented the entry of food, medicine, fuel and other goods, bringing warnings the area was at risk of famine.
The war began in October 2023 when Hamas militants stormed into Israeli communities near the border with Gaza, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza has displaced nearly all of the territory's 2.3 million residents and killed more than 53,000, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count of the number of dead.
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The Guardian
12 minutes ago
- The Guardian
On Gaza's killing fields, journalism faces its darkest hour – but that won't stop us reporting
As the world witnesses the horrors unfolding in Gaza, a related tragedy continues with chilling regularity: the systematic targeting and killing of journalists. Just as the Gaza journalistic community thought matters could not get any worse, Benjamin Netanyahu's brutal occupying forces carried out yet another cold-blooded murder on Sunday, this time of the Al Jazeera journalists Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qraiqea, along with videographers Ibrahim Thaher, Mohammed Nofal and their colleagues. They were sheltering in a media tent near al-Shifa hospital, and were killed by a direct strike. The Israeli war machine, accelerating its stated goal of occupying Gaza, showed no restraint in targeting journalists, in violation of international conventions. So far in this war it has killed 238 of us. The war on Gaza has become the deadliest conflict for journalists and media workers in living memory, with 2024 recording the highest number of journalists killed, the vast majority at the hands of Israeli forces. The systematic targeting and elimination of journalists is not merely a local or regional tragedy; it is a catastrophic breach of international norms regarding the protection of journalists in conflict zones, signalling a global collapse of the moral responsibility in safeguarding those who risk everything to shed light on the realities of war. Gaza is not the only place where journalists are under siege. Threats, intimidation and murderous violence against journalists are on the rise in countries including Sudan, Pakistan and Myanmar. However, what differentiates Israeli crimes is the impunity with which the occupation forces murder journalists and the indifference shown by leaders of the so-called free world. What is especially shocking is when some media organisations repeat the Israeli regime's false allegations against targeted journalists without verification. By any measure, it is the most dangerous time to be a journalist in recent history. Reporters are threatened, harassed and killed merely for fulfilling their public duty of bearing witness and reporting the truth. Worldwide, the dangers faced by journalists in conflict zones have intensified. In 2023, a journalist or media worker was killed, on average, every four days. In 2024, this grim statistic worsened to once every three days, most of those by Israeli forces. The journalists in Gaza are not parachuted-in international correspondents but local journalists – those who know the land, the people and the stories best. These journalists are not just reporting on Gaza's tragedy; they are living it. This surge in violence against journalists is neither accidental nor isolated. It is part of a broader, deeply worrying trend: the systematic silencing of the media, often orchestrated by autocrats and regimes who seek to conceal their crimes in darkness. This should horrify us all. It is an assault not only on individual reporters but on the entire global public's right to know, to understand the depth of human suffering, and to hold the powerful to account. Beyond the killings of more than 230 journalists, Israel now employs starvation as a tool, with journalists pushed to the brink, collapsing from hunger while reporting. At Al Jazeera, we have lost colleagues and their family members in Gaza, with the latest killing of Anas al-Sharif and his colleagues bringing the total number of the network's journalists killed to nine. Our colleagues have been forced to report not just on the atrocities happening to civilians, but on the direct attacks against those whose only weapon is a microphone or a camera. Despite this, we insist on continuing in our professional duty. We remain committed to reporting unfolding genocide, despite Israeli efforts to blind us and the world. We will tirelessly work to strengthen the teams and to remain faithful to our global audience, who have a right to be informed. But this requires international solidarity, and the exertion of full pressure on Israel to stop targeting and killing journalists and to allow international media access and freedom of operation in the Gaza Strip. The international community must act, urgently and decisively, to safeguard journalists and to protect those who risk everything to inform the world about the continuing humanitarian catastrophe and genocide in Gaza. Journalists must be allowed to perform their duties without fear of violence. Anything less is a betrayal of the most fundamental principles of free expression. We owe it to the courageous journalists in Gaza to amplify their voices. Their work is not merely documentation; it is the first draft of history, whereby future historians will study the horrors of the 21st century's most televised genocide. Access to reliable information about wars and conflicts is not a luxury; it is essential for the wellbeing of global populations, the protection of human rights and the global effort to hold perpetrators of war crimes accountable. When journalists are silenced, we all become more vulnerable to disinformation, propaganda and the unchecked abuse of power. We are at a crossroads. If the world continues to tolerate the murder, starvation and persecution of journalists, it is not only journalism that will suffer, but also accountability, democracy and the possibility of a more just future. The international legal framework for the protection of journalists in war must be urgently strengthened and enforced, and governments must be held to account for violations. The international journalistic community, and indeed the world, bears an immense responsibility. The courage, commitment and sacrifice of journalists in Gaza demand nothing less than our full support and unrelenting advocacy. Our inaction will be recorded by history as a monumental failure to protect those who stood at the frontlines of truth. Asef Hamidi is the director of news, Al Jazeera Channel Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Killing Palestinian journalists in Gaza renders the world blind - what is Israel so afraid of?
Anas al-Sharif, 28, feared he would be assassinated by Israel. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression were worried too. The Al-Jazeera star correspondent, who had tirelessly documented the horrors in north Gaza, faced a deadly smear campaign from the Israeli military. They accused the Palestinian father-of-two of being a Hamas militant, which Sharif vehemently denied, and the CPJ said were completely unfounded accusations. In fact just a few weeks ago, the CPJ said the campaign 'represented an effort to manufacture consent to kill Al-Sharif' and that the danger to his life was now acute. UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan urged the world to act against the 'blatant attempt to endanger his life'. No one did. On Sunday night, Israel deliberately bombed the tent he was sleeping in, killing Anas, four of his Al Jazeera colleagues, as well as a freelance journalist in a neighbouring tent and a passerby. All within the complex of a hospital compound. The military celebrated, claiming this state-sponsored assassination was a successful hit on a Hamas operative. The CPJ called it 'murder plain and simple' and said it is part of a pattern of accusing Palestinian journalists without providing any credible proof. And it is simple. Israeli strikes have already killed more than 200 Palestinian journalists and media workers in Gaza since October 2023. The more Palestinian journalists like Anas in Gaza that Israel kills, the fewer people there are to report on one of the most unprecedented humanitarian catastrophes of our time. That renders the world blind. Since the start of this war Israel has also barred international correspondents like me from entering and reporting in Gaza, except in controlled military embeds. And so, newsrooms rely entirely on our courageous Palestinian colleagues to be the eyes on what is going on inside the besieged, bombarded, blasted strip. They are the eyes for the world. I do not see any reason to bar international journalists from entering Gaza to also report. I, like hundreds of other correspondents, covered the devastating 2012 and 2014 wars on Gaza from inside Gaza. Back then, Israel permitted us to enter via land crossing points. I have repeatedly asked the Israeli authorities why they will not let us in, and have yet to receive a clear explanation. It begs the question: What is it we are not supposed to see? The slaughter of Palestinian journalists, and the blockade on international reporters, means that you, me, all of us sitting in the comfort of our living rooms, know less about what is going on in Gaza. In Gaza, where Israel's bombardment and war with Hamas militants has killed over 61,000 people, according to local officials; where famine is unfolding, according to the UN-backed global hunger monitor; where more than 90 per cent of the 2.3 million population have been forced to flee their homes multiple times, trapped within this kill box. It means we know less about conditions in Gaza, where at least 50 hostages and captives seized by Hamas militants during its deadly 7 October raids on southern Israel are being held. The deliberate targeting and killing of journalists constitutes war crimes under international humanitarian law. If the killing of the Al-Jazeera journalists - and freelancer Mohammed al Khalidi– goes unanswered; if there is no truly impartial investigations and no accountability into the killings of all of the journalists and no justice for their families, it sets a dangerous precedent for our brave colleagues who are still (barely) alive in Gaza and under threat. And it sets a dangerous precedent for journalists everywhere. And the pursuit of truth. It signals that it is acceptable for a western ally - of the UK and the USA - to engage in the killing of reporters with impunity. That makes us all less safe. Right now, Gaza is the most dangerous place on earth to be a journalist. To cite Amnesty: 'No conflict in modern history has seen a higher number of journalists killed than Israel's genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.' For the sake of the Palestinian journalists still inside Gaza. For the sake of all of those suffering inside Gaza right now. For the sake of the future of journalism. For the future of truth itself, we must demand answers and justice.
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Anas al-Sharif: Who was the Al Jazeera journalist killed by Israel?
The killing of Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif by Israeli forces in a 'targeted strike' in Gaza last week sparked outrage from media organisations, humanitarian groups and foreign governments. For nearly two years, he reported on the humanitarian crisis that has unfolded in the Strip since Israel began its war in October 2023. The journalist, 28, was described as the 'only voice left in Gaza City'. After Israel barred foreign journalists from entering the enclave, al-Sharif became the most prominent reporter covering the war, which has killed over 61,400 people so far and reduced Gaza to a heap of rubble. On Sunday night, al-Sharif had warned of a "relentless bombardment" of Gaza City. Shortly after, an Israeli missile hit a tent outside the city's largest hospital complex, killing him and five other journalists. The IDF claimed that al-Sharif was the head of a Hamas militant cell and was involved in rocket attacks on Israel, an allegation that has been denied both by Al Jazeera and al-Sharif himself. Below, The Independent looks at the career of al-Sharif and how he became the most famous reporter in Gaza. 'The only voice left in Gaza City' Since joining the Qatari broadcaster in December 2023, the father of two reported almost daily on the suffering of Palestinians in northern Gaza. Al-Sharif drew widespread attention last January when, during a live broadcast, he removed his body armour after a ceasefire announcement between Israel and Hamas. "I am taking off the helmet that tired me, and this armour that has become an extension of my body,' he said. In a July broadcast, al-Sharif cried on air as a woman behind him collapsed from hunger. "I am talking about the slow death of those people," he said at the time. He was hired by Al Jazeera after his social media footage of Israeli attacks in his hometown of Jabalia went viral. 'I had never even appeared on a local channel, let alone an international one,' he was quoted as saying by the media outlet Sotour. 'The person who was happiest was my late father. 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.' UN says killings 'part of a strategy to suppress truth' In January 2024, al-Sharif's father was killed in an Israeli airstrike on their home in the Jabalia refugee camp, where al-Sharif was born. Israel has accused al-Sharif of having links to Hamas, a claim he has rejected. In October 2024, Israel published documents which it claimed showed 'unequivocal proof' of the reporter's ties to the militant group. Responding to the allegations, al-Sharif said: '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 added: 'At a time when a deadly famine is ravaging Gaza, speaking the truth has become, in the eyes of the occupation, a threat." UN special rapporteur Irene Khan on 31 July warned that killings of journalists were a 'part of a deliberate strategy of Israel to suppress the truth'. Raed Fakih, input manager at Al Jazeera, told the BBC that al-Sharif was "courageous, dedicated, and honest – that is what made him successful as a journalist with hundreds of thousands of social media followers from all over the world". "His dedication took him to areas where no other reporter ventured to go, especially those that witnessed the worst massacres. His integrity kept him true to his message as a journalist,' Mr Fakih said. "In our last conversations, he told me about the famine and starvation he was enduring, about how hard it is to survive with so little food.' Hundreds gather to mourn journalists killed by Israel In a pre-written final message, which was posted to al-Sharif's X account shortly after his death, he said: "If these words of mine reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice." Al-Sharif said he had "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". 'Do not forget Gaza,' he appealed. 'And do not forget me in your righteous prayers for forgiveness and acceptance.' Hundreds of people, including many journalists, gathered on Monday to mourn al-Sharif and his slain colleagues, whose bodies lay wrapped in white sheets at the al-Shifa Hospital complex. Al Jazeera denounced the 'targeted assassination' of its crew as "yet another blatant and premeditated attack on press freedom". The strike also killed four Al Jazeera journalists and a freelance reporter: Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, Moamen Aliwa, and Mohammad al-Khaldi. The killing of al-Sharif and his colleagues brought the total number of Al Jazeera staff killed by Israeli forces during the war to 11, a total which does not include eight freelancers. Ismail al-Ghoul, 27, and camerman Rami al-Rifi were killed last summer, while freelancer Hossam Shabat was killed in an Israeli airstrike in March. The Committee to Protect Journalists said on Monday that at least 192 journalists had been killed since Israel launched the war in Gaza.
