Israel’s military announced it had killed Anas Al Sharif, a 28-year-old Al Jazeera journalist, in an airstrike near Shifa Hospital in eastern Gaza City. The military claimed Al Sharif was not just a reporter but also the leader of a Hamas cell responsible for advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and troops.
However, Al Jazeera, journalists’ groups, and human rights advocates strongly rejected these allegations, condemning the attack as a targeted effort to silence frontline journalists covering the Gaza conflict.
The airstrike killed Al Sharif along with three other Al Jazeera journalists—Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, and Mohammed Noufal—and an assistant. Two additional people were reported killed in the same strike, according to officials at Shifa Hospital. Al Jazeera described Al Sharif as “one of Gaza’s bravest journalists” and called the attack a “desperate attempt to silence voices in anticipation of the occupation of Gaza.”
Israel’s military statement cited intelligence and documents allegedly found in Gaza as evidence of Al Sharif’s involvement with Hamas, but these claims have been widely disputed. A UN special rapporteur, Irene Khan, has stated that Israel’s accusations lack substantiation, and press freedom groups such as the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) criticized Israel for failing to provide credible evidence.
CPJ’s director for the Middle East and North Africa, Sara Qudah, highlighted a concerning pattern of labeling journalists as militants without proof, calling into question Israel’s respect for press freedom.
Before his death, Al Sharif had more than 500,000 followers on his social media account and posted minutes before the strike that Israel was heavily bombing Gaza City. Last October, Israel’s military had already named Al Sharif among six Gaza journalists it accused of being members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, citing documents with lists of trainees and salaries. Al Jazeera vehemently denied these claims, calling them fabricated and insisting their journalists are truth-tellers.
Hamas condemned the killing, warning it could mark the beginning of a broader Israeli offensive. The group stated that targeting journalists is a prelude to a “major crime” planned in Gaza City.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to launch a new offensive to dismantle Hamas strongholds, even as the enclave faces a worsening hunger crisis after nearly two years of conflict.
Al Jazeera mourned the loss of Al Sharif and his colleagues as among the “last remaining voices in Gaza conveying the tragic reality to the world.” Since the war began on October 7, 2023, the Gaza government media office reports that 237 journalists have been killed, while the Committee to Protect Journalists confirms at least 186 deaths among media personnel during the conflict. The killing of Al Sharif has intensified concerns about the safety of journalists reporting from Gaza amid ongoing violence.
