Israeli forces killed two of Gaza’s most prominent journalists and three of their colleagues late on Sunday, just hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed international criticism over his plan to occupy the Palestinian enclave.
According to Al Jazeera Media Network, its correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qraiqea were among five media workers “deliberately killed” when Israeli forces struck their tent outside al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Sharif, 28, a father of two, had been stationed with cameramen and photojournalists Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Mosaab Al Sharif outside the hospital’s main gate when the strike hit. Two other unnamed Palestinians were also killed.
Shortly before his death, Sharif posted a video on X showing what he described as Israel’s “intense” missile strikes on the eastern and southern parts of Gaza City. His final post captured the deafening booms of explosions close to his location.
Al Jazeera Condemns ‘Attempt to Silence Voices’
In a statement, Al Jazeera described Sharif as “one of Gaza’s bravest journalists,” accusing Israel of a “desperate attempt to silence voices in anticipation of the occupation of Gaza.”
“Anas and his colleagues were among the last remaining voices from within Gaza, providing the world with unfiltered, on-the-ground coverage of the devastating realities endured by its people,” the network said.
An outpouring of grief and condemnation has followed the Israeli assassination of five Al Jazeera staff in Gaza, including prominent correspondent Anas al-Sharif.
🔗: https://t.co/MEM8sQ9wbi | #JournalismIsNotACrime pic.twitter.com/A1hFL9E9pj
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) August 11, 2025
It noted that while international media had been barred from entering Gaza, its journalists stayed behind, “experiencing the hunger and suffering they documented through their lenses.” Through “continuous, courageous live coverage,” Al Jazeera said, they delivered “searing eyewitness accounts of the horrors unleashed over 22 months of relentless bombing and destruction.”
The network has previously accused Israel of targeting its journalists — including in October 2023, when Wael al-Dahdouh’s family was killed in an airstrike — and has called for international accountability.
Israeli Military Claims Sharif Was a Hamas Operative
Following media reports on Sharif’s death, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed carrying out the strike, alleging 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.
🎯STRUCK: Hamas terrorist Anas Al-Sharif, who posed as an Al Jazeera journalist
Al-Sharif was the head of a Hamas terrorist cell and advanced rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and IDF troops.
Intelligence and documents from Gaza, including rosters, terrorist training lists and… pic.twitter.com/ypFaEYDHse— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) August 10, 2025
The IDF claimed that in October 2024, it had released documents seized in Gaza that “unequivocally” confirmed Sharif’s “military affiliation with Hamas.” According to the military, Sharif headed a rocket-launching squad and was a member of an elite Nukhba Force unit in Hamas’s East Jabalia Battalion.
“These documents serve as proof of the terrorist’s integration into the Qatari Al Jazeera media network,” the statement added.
Competing Narratives Over Journalists in Conflict
The killing underscores long-standing tensions between Israel and Al Jazeera, which the Netanyahu government has repeatedly accused of acting as a propaganda arm for Hamas. Al Jazeera rejects the accusations, insisting its Gaza bureau operates as an independent newsroom documenting the war.
Press freedom groups, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), have urged independent investigations into the deaths of journalists in Gaza, warning that targeting media workers violates international humanitarian law unless they are directly participating in hostilities. The IDF maintains that in cases like Sharif’s, it has acted within legal frameworks because it believes the individual was an active combatant.
The war in Gaza has been one of the deadliest conflicts for journalists in modern history, with at least 103 media workers killed since October 2023, according to CPJ figures. Most of them were Palestinian journalists working inside the besieged enclave.
