An Israeli air strike late Sunday outside the main gate of Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital killed seven people, including five journalists from Al Jazeera.
The broadcaster said the strike was a deliberate attack. Among the dead was veteran reporter Anas al-Sharif, along with correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa.
Al-Sharif’s death comes just over a year after an Israeli strike destroyed his family home in the Jabalia refugee camp, killing his 65-year-old father. The journalist had often voiced fears for his life, accusing the Israeli military of targeting him.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed al-Sharif was intentionally targeted, claiming he led a Hamas “terrorist cell.”
In a message dated April 6, prepared in case of his death, al-Sharif wrote of enduring “pain in all its details” and “tasting grief and loss repeatedly.” He expressed sorrow at leaving behind his wife, Bayan, and at never seeing his son, Salah, and daughter, Sham, grow up.
Al Jazeera condemned what it called the targeted assassination of its staff, describing it as “a desperate attempt to silence voices exposing the impending seizure and occupation of Gaza.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said it was appalled, noting that Israel had provided no evidence to support its allegations against al-Sharif.
“Journalists are civilians and must never be targeted. Those responsible for these killings must be held accountable,” CPJ stated.
Since the conflict began in October 2023, CPJ reports that 186 journalists have been killed in the Israel-Gaza war, at least 178 of them Palestinian.
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