Global condemnation has erupted after a targeted Israeli airstrike killed five Al Jazeera journalists, including prominent correspondent Anas al-Sharif, in Gaza City on Sunday evening. The attack, which destroyed a press tent outside the main gate of al-Shifa Hospital, is being described by press freedom advocates as a brazen assassination and a further attempt to silence reporting from the besieged enclave.
Seven people were killed in total. The slain Al Jazeera staff include correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa, alongside al-Sharif. The journalists were using the tent as a base of operations to document the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza.
Anas al-Sharif, 28, was a well-known Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who had provided vital, round-the-clock coverage from northern Gaza for over 22 months. Shortly before his death, he posted on social media about the “nonstop bombing” and intense “fire belts” unleashed by Israel on Gaza City.
In a powerful final message, written in April to be published in the event of his death, al-Sharif spoke of his unwavering commitment to his work. “I never hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or misrepresentation,” he wrote. “Not even the mangled bodies of our children and women moved their hearts or stopped the massacre that our people have been subjected to for over a year and a half.”
Al Jazeera correspondent Hani Mahmoud, who was nearby when the strike occurred, said his colleagues were killed “because they’re bringing the truth of this crime to everyone,” specifically highlighting their relentless reporting on the famine and starvation engineered by the Israeli blockade.
قصف لا يتوقف…
منذ ساعتين والعدوان الإسرائيلي يشتد على مدينة غزة. pic.twitter.com/yW8PesTkFT— أنس الشريف Anas Al-Sharif (@AnasAlSharif0) August 10, 2025
In a statement, the Israeli military confirmed it deliberately targeted and killed al-Sharif, accusing him without evidence of leading a Hamas military cell. Israel has routinely accused Palestinian journalists of being “terrorists” as part of a wider campaign to discredit their reporting on Israeli war crimes.
International bodies have rejected these claims. Last month, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, Irene Khan, stated she was “deeply alarmed by repeated threats and accusations of the Israeli army” against al-Sharif, noting that fears for his safety were “well-founded.” Similarly, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) had recently condemned the Israeli military’s “smear campaign” against him.
Muhammed Shehada, an analyst at the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, told Al Jazeera there was “zero evidence” for the Israeli allegations, stating, “His entire daily routine was standing in front of a camera from morning to evening.”
This attack is part of a devastating pattern. Since the war began in October 2023, the Israeli military has killed more than 200 journalists and media workers, including several Al Jazeera staff and their family members. Rights groups argue this constitutes a systematic effort to eliminate witnesses to what many global leaders and human rights organizations have labeled a genocide against the Palestinian people. The targeting of a clearly marked press area represents a grave violation of international law and a direct assault on truth itself.
