A prominent Al Jazeera journalist, Anas Al Sharif, and five colleagues were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Sunday, in an attack condemned by human rights and journalist groups.
Al Sharif, 28, was part of a Reuters team that won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography for coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
He was among four Al Jazeera journalists and an assistant killed in the strike near Shifa Hospital in eastern Gaza City, according to Gaza officials and the network. The other journalists were Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher and Mohammed Noufal. A hospital official said two other people were also killed.
A sixth journalist, Mohammad Al-Khaldi, a local freelance reporter, was also killed in the airstrike, according medics at Al Shifa Hospital said on Monday.
Al Jazeera described the strike as a “desperate attempt to silence voices in anticipation of the occupation of Gaza,” and called Al Sharif “one of Gaza’s bravest journalists."
According to the Israeli military official statement posted on Telegram, Al Sharif “posed as a journalist” for Al Jazeera and served as the head of a Hamas terrorist cell. The IDF alleged he was responsible for advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and Israeli troops, citing intelligence and documents recovered in Gaza, including personnel rosters, lists of training courses, phone directories and salary records, as proof of his role in Hamas and his integration into Al Jazeera.
The media organisation rejected the claims, and before his death Al Sharif had denied earlier Israeli allegations linking him to Hamas.
The statement added that the IDF used precision munitions, aerial surveillance and other measures to avoid civilian casualties.
A press freedom group and United Nations Special Rapporteur Irene Khan had previously warned that Al Sharif’s life was at risk due to his reporting, saying Israel’s claims lacked substantiation.
Sara Qudah, Director for the Middle East and North Africa at the Committee to Protect Journalists’ said “Israel’s pattern of labelling journalists as militants without providing credible evidence raises serious questions about its intent and respect for press freedom.”
Minutes before his death, Al Sharif posted on X that Gaza City had been under intense bombardment for more than two hours.
The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said 237 journalists have been killed since the war began on 7 October, 2023.
The Committee to Protect Journalists puts the death toll at at least 186.
Friends, colleagues and relatives embraced and consoled one another on Monday as they gathered at Sheikh Radwan Cemetery in the heart of the Gaza Strip to mourn the journalists.
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are escalating, with Washington ordering a significant military build-up in the region and multiple countries evacu...
Two people were killed and around 40 injured when a tram derailed in central Milan on Friday (27 Februrary), a spokesperson for local firefighters sai...
Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), issued a statement on Friday (27 February) calling on Ankara to ...
Colombia’s commerce minister, Diana Marcela Morales, has said she will propose raising tariffs on certain Ecuadorian goods from 30% to 50%, as a tra...
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton said on Friday (27 February) that he had no knowledge of the crimes committed by Jeffrey Epstein and would not have...
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are escalating, with Washington ordering a significant military build-up in the region and multiple countries evacuating diplomatic staff amid fears of further instability.
Speaking during a closed-door deposition in New York on Thursday (February), former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she did not “recall” ever meeting the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and had “no knowledge of his crimes”.
Pakistan’s declaration of an “open war” with Afghanistan must be understood in the context of months of escalating violence, regional analysts have said, describing the latest developments as a significant shift in the nature of the conflict.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to resolve their differences through dialogue, offering Tehran’s assistance to facilitate understanding between its eastern neighbours.
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are escalating, with Washington ordering a significant military build-up in the region and multiple countries evacuating diplomatic staff amid fears of further instability.
The death toll from heavy rains and flooding in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state has risen to 46, authorities said, with 21 people still reported missing. The storms triggered landslides and widespread flooding, displacing thousands across Juiz de Fora and Uba.
The situation in Cuba was heating up and called for restraint following a deadly incident involving a Florida-registered speedboat off the coast of the Caribbean island, the Kremlin said on Thursday (26 February).
Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek William Saab and Ombudsman Alfredo Ruiz tendered their resignations to the National Assembly on Wednesday. Neither official has publicly provided reasons for stepping down.
Pakistani air strikes hit a weapons depot on the western outskirts of Kabul overnight, triggering hours of secondary explosions that rattled homes across the Afghan capital and left residents fearing further violence.
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are escalating, with Washington ordering a significant military build-up in the region and multiple countries evacuating diplomatic staff amid fears of further instability.
Two people were killed and around 40 injured when a tram derailed in central Milan on Friday (27 Februrary), a spokesperson for local firefighters said.
Colombia’s commerce minister, Diana Marcela Morales, has said she will propose raising tariffs on certain Ecuadorian goods from 30% to 50%, as a trade dispute between the neighbouring countries intensifies.
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton said on Friday (27 February) that he had no knowledge of the crimes committed by Jeffrey Epstein and would not have flown on the late convicted sex offender’s plane had he had any inkling of his activities.
Some of Iran's most highly enriched uranium, close to weapons grade, was stored in an underground area of its nuclear site in Isfahan, the UN nuclear watchdog said in a confidential report sent to member states on Friday (27 February).
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment