Five Al Jazeera journalists, including prominent reporter Anas al-Sharif, have been killed in what the broadcaster described as a targeted Israeli strike near Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital.
Sharif, correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh, and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa were in a tent for journalists at the hospital’s main gate on Sunday when it was hit.
Al Jazeera called the attack a “targeted assassination” and “a blatant and premeditated assault on press freedom”.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned the strike, while the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed it had targeted Sharif, accusing him of leading a Hamas terrorist cell and advancing rocket attacks.
The IDF claimed to have Hamas documents linking him to the group in 2019, but the CPJ said no evidence had been provided to substantiate the allegations.
“This is a pattern we’ve seen for decades, in which a journalist is killed by Israeli forces and then labelled a terrorist without credible proof,” CPJ chief executive Jodie Ginsberg told the BBC.
Al Jazeera managing editor Mohamed Moawad insisted Sharif was an accredited journalist and “the only voice” reporting from inside Gaza.
He said the journalists were not on the front line when they were targeted, accusing Israel of trying to silence coverage from the territory.
Sharif, 28, had posted on X minutes before his death, warning of intense Israeli bombardment. Verified videos showed his and Qreiqeh’s bodies being carried from the scene.
Seven people in total were killed in the strike.
The deaths come weeks after Al Jazeera, the United Nations and CPJ warned Sharif’s life was in danger.
UN special rapporteur Irene Khan described Israel’s earlier allegations against him as “unsubstantiated” and part of a “blatant assault on journalists”.
Israel has previously targeted other Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza, claiming they were Hamas-affiliated – accusations the network has repeatedly rejected.
The CPJ says 186 journalists have been killed since Israel’s military offensive began in October 2023.
Conditions for reporters in Gaza remain dire, with food shortages compounding the risks of air strikes. Aid agencies have warned of mass starvation, while Israel accuses them of serving “Hamas propaganda”.
The war began after Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on 7 October 2023 killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 others taken hostage. Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says more than 61,000 people have been killed since.
