Countries and international organizations expressed alarm Monday over alleged repeated targeting of journalists in Gaza after an Israeli strike killed a prominent Palestinian journalist for Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera, whom the military has long accused of being a Hamas terrorist in charge of rocket launching.

Al Jazeera confirmed the death of Anas al-Sharif, 28, 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.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesperson said the premier is “gravely concerned” about the repeated targeting of journalists in Gaza.

“Reporters covering conflicts are afforded protection under international humanitarian law, and journalists must be able to report independently, without fear, and Israel must ensure journalists can carry out their work safely,” the spokesperson said.

Asked about the claim that one of the journalists was linked to Hamas, Starmer’s spokesperson said: “That should be investigated thoroughly and independently, but we are gravely concerned by the repeated targeting of journalists.”

Qatar’s prime minister also lambasted Israel for killing journalists working for its Al Jazeera network, describing the deaths as “crimes beyond imagination.”

“May God have mercy on journalists Anas Al-Sharif, Mohammed Qraiqea, and their colleagues,” Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said in a post on X.

The UN human rights agency called the killings a “grave breach of international humanitarian law.”

The office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said on X that “Israel must respect and protect all civilians, including journalists,” claiming that at least 242 Palestinian journalists have allegedly been killed in Gaza since the Hamas-led massacre of October 7, 2023, in southern Israel set off the war. Israel says Hamas fighters embed themselves in civilian life in Gaza and that it doesn’t target civilians or journalists.

“We call for immediate, safe and unhindered access to Gaza for all journalists,” Turk’s office said.

The Foreign Press Association said it was “outraged” by the killing, insisting that the “colleagues were carrying out their duty as journalists and reporting on events as they occurred.”

It dismissed Israel’s labeling of Palestinian journalists as terrorists “often without verifiable evidence, turning them into targets.”

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the “acknowledged murder by the Israeli army.”

The press freedom campaign group told AFP he was “one of the most famous journalists from the Gaza Strip [and] the voice of the suffering Israel has imposed on Palestinians in Gaza.”

RSF called the Israeli allegations “baseless.”

“In [Sunday’s] deliberate attack, the Israeli army reproduced a known method already tested, notably against al-Jazeera journalists,” RSF said, pointing to the alleged killings of two reporters on July 31 last year.

Israel also labeled one of those men, Ismail al-Ghoul, a terrorist.

RSF called on other countries to intervene, saying the UN Security Council should meet to insist on the protection of journalists in conflict zones.

“Without strong action from the international community to stop the Israeli army… we’re likely to witness more such extrajudicial murders of media professionals,” the group said.

Media advocacy group the Committee to Protect Journalists joined in the criticism.

“Journalists are civilians. They must never be targeted in war. And to do so is a war crime,” Jodie Ginsberg, chief executive of the Committee to Protect Journalists, told AFP.

There was no reaction Monday from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office or the Foreign Ministry.

In an English-language tweet, Blue and White-National Unity party chairman Benny Gantz, of the opposition, defended the strike.

“Real journalists uphold strict ethical and professional standards — and are worthy of protection,” declared Gantz, an ex-IDF chief of staff and former defense minister.

“Hamas terrorists and their accomplices, including ‘journalists’ who on October 7 invaded Israel and gleefully filmed the slaughter — should be determinedly hunted and eliminated,” he argued.

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 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.

A press freedom group and a UN expert previously warned that 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.

Al Jazeera has fiercely denied Israel’s allegations and accused it of systematically targeting Al Jazeera employees in the Gaza Strip.

It called the attack that killed Sharif “a desperate attempt to silence voices exposing the Israeli occupation,” and described Sharif as “one of Gaza’s bravest journalists.”

Al Jazeera also said it followed “repeated incitement and calls by multiple Israeli officials and spokespersons to target the fearless journalist Anas al-Sharif and his colleagues.”

Meanwhile, Gazans gathered on Monday for the funeral of those killed in the strike, with dozens standing amid bombed-out buildings in the courtyard of Shifa Hospital to pay their respects.

The bodies, wrapped in white shrouds with their faces exposed, were carried through narrow alleys to their graves by mourners, including men wearing blue journalists’ flak jackets.

A posthumous message, written in April in case of his death, was published on his account on Monday morning, saying he had been silenced and urging people “not to forget Gaza.”

According to local journalists who knew him, Sharif had worked at the start of his career with a Hamas communication office, where his role was to publicize events organized by the terror group that has exercised total control over Gaza since 2007, after violently overthrowing the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority.

International reporters are prevented from traveling to Gaza by Israel, except on occasional, tightly controlled trips with the military.

The incident came days after Israel approved a plan to fully conquer Gaza City and relocate southward around 1 million Palestinians currently staying there, drawing international outcry, including from its closest allies.

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, accusing it of terror activity.

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.

Sam Sokol contributed to this report.