An Israeli strike in Gaza City Sunday night killed a prominent Palestinian journalist for Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera, Anas al-Sharif, whom the Israel Defense Forces has long argued was a Hamas terrorist in charge of rocket launching.
Al Jazeera confirmed the 28-year-old’s death along with fellow journalist Mohammed Qreiqeh and videographers Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa in the strike, which it said targeted a tent near Shifa Hospital. An official at the hospital said two other people were also killed in the strike.
The incident came days after Israel approved a plan to fully conquer Gaza City and relocate southward around 1 million Palestinians currently staying there.
Following Gazan media reports about Sharif’s death, the IDF confirmed carrying out a strike that killed him, saying he was a “terrorist operating under the guise of a journalist.”
“The terrorist Anas al-Sharif served as a cell leader in the Hamas terror organization and advanced plans for rocket fire against Israeli civilians and IDF forces,” the military said in a statement.
The IDF noted that in October, it published documents seized in Gaza that it said “unequivocally” confirmed Sharif’s “military affiliation with Hamas.”
At the time, the military said Sharif headed a rocket-launching squad and was a member of an elite Nukhba Force company in Hamas’s East Jabalia Battalion.
“These documents serve as proof of the terrorist’s integration into the Qatari Al Jazeera media network,” the IDF said.
Al Jazeera has fiercely denied Israel’s allegations and accused it of systematically targeting Al Jazeera employees in the Gaza Strip.
In Sunday’s strike, the military said it took steps to mitigate civilian harm, including “the use of precision munitions, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence information.”
Minutes before being killed, Sharif documented Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City and posted footage to social media.
“Relentless bombing… For two hours, the Israeli aggression on Gaza City has intensified,” he wrote on X.
And shortly after his death, his X account, which has more than 500,000 followers, published a message he had left to be posted in the event of his death that read, “…I never hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or misrepresentation, hoping that God would witness those who remained silent.”
A press freedom group and a UN expert previously warned that Al Sharif’s life was in danger due to his reporting from Gaza. UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan claimed last month that Israel’s allegations against him were unsubstantiated.
In a statement, the Committee to Protect Journalists, which in July urged the international community to protect Al Sharif, said Israel had failed to provide any evidence to back up its allegations against him.
“Israel’s pattern of labeling journalists as militants without providing credible evidence raises serious questions about its intent and respect for press freedom,” said Sara Qudah, CPJ’s director for the Middle East and North Africa.
Calling Al Sharif “one of Gaza’s bravest journalists,” Al Jazeera said the attack “is a desperate attempt to silence voices in anticipation of the occupation of Gaza.”
“Anas Al Sharif and his colleagues were among the last remaining voices in Gaza conveying the tragic reality to the world,” Al Jazeera said.
Palestinian terror group Hamas, which runs Gaza, said the killing may signal the start of an Israeli offensive. “The assassination of journalists and the intimidation of those who remain paves the way for a major crime that the occupation is planning to commit in Gaza City,” said Hamas, which itself regularly faces accusations of persecuting adversarial journalists.
The Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate condemned what it described as a “bloody crime” of assassination.
Pro-Israel advocates hailed the killing of Sharif and posted photos he took with since-slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, as well as a screenshot of a Telegram message he posted on October 7, 2023, hailing the murders and kidnappings during the mass Hamas onslaught that day.
“A terrorist with a camera is still a terrorist,” posted Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon. “I commend our security forces for eliminating the terrorist Anas Jamal Mahmoud Al-Sharif, who operated under the guise of an Al Jazeera journalist.”
The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said 237 journalists have been killed since the war started. The Committee to Protect Journalists said at least 186 journalists have been killed in the Gaza conflict.
Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques.
Israel and Al Jazeera have had a contentious relationship for years, with Israeli authorities banning the staunchly critical channel in the country last year and raiding its offices.
Qatar, which partly funds Al Jazeera, has hosted an office for the Hamas political leadership for years and been a frequent venue for indirect talks between Israel and the terror group.