Airstrike carried out by Israel results in the death of numerous journalists in Gaza, with reports from Al Jazeera confirming loss of renowned broadcasters from their network.
Palestinian Journalist Anas Al-Sharif Killed in Israeli Airstrike in Gaza City
Anas Al-Sharif, a prominent journalist working for Al Jazeera, was among those killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on August 10, 2025. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed he was a Hamas operative, alleging he was involved in advancing rocket attacks. However, this accusation was rejected by Al Jazeera, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and other press freedom organizations, which condemned the strike as a deliberate attack on journalists.
Al-Sharif was widely recognized as a frontline reporter covering Gaza, and prior to his assassination, he had faced serious threats and what Al Jazeera described as a campaign of incitement from the Israeli military. CPJ had previously highlighted concerns over targeted harassment campaigns against him, warning of real-life threats based on Israeli accusations without presenting public evidence.
The targeted killing of Al-Sharif occurred during an ongoing conflict marked by multiple journalist casualties, contributing to a broader pattern of violence against media workers in the Gaza war. Independent press freedom groups and media outlets have firmly portrayed him as a journalist reporting the truth rather than a militant or Hamas member, viewing the Israeli military's claims as part of a tactic often used to smear Palestinian journalists. There is no credible independent evidence publicly available to substantiate the Israeli military’s allegations that he was a member of Hamas.
Al-Sharif identified himself as a journalist with no political affiliations, stating his only mission was to report the truth from the ground without bias. In his final message, he urged others not to be silenced, hindered, or hindered by borders, and to be bridges towards the liberation of the land and its people.
The strike killed at least seven people, according to Dr. Mohammad Abu Salmiya, the hospital director. Al-Shifa hospital reported the death of six journalists in Gaza City, including four from Al Jazeera. Since the beginning of the war nearly two years ago, 186 journalists have been killed in Israeli strikes, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
The United Nations, through Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, expressed alarm over repeated threats and accusations against Al-Sharif. The Israeli military claimed to have documents showing "unequivocal proof" of Al-Sharif's ties to Hamas, but no such evidence has been made public.
Al Jazeera issued a statement calling the attack a "desperate attempt to silence voices ahead of the occupation of Gaza." The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) expressed grave concern for Al-Sharif's safety in July, stating he feared for his life due to an Israeli military smear campaign. The situation regarding Al-Sharif's death is currently developing and will be updated.
[1] CPJ (2025). Israel's targeted killing of Anas Al-Sharif: A dangerous escalation against Palestinian journalists. Retrieved from https://cpj.org/2025/08/israels-targeted-killing-of-anas-al-sharif-a-dangerous-escalation-against-palestinian-journalists.html
[2] Al Jazeera (2025). Anas Al-Sharif: The journalist who risked his life to tell the truth. Retrieved from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/11/anas-al-sharif-the-journalist-who-risked-his-life-to-tell-the-truth
[3] Reporters Without Borders (2025). Israel: The killing of Anas Al-Sharif is a new low in the targeting of journalists. Retrieved from https://rsf.org/en/news/israel-killing-anas-al-sharif-new-low-targeting-journalists
[4] Human Rights Watch (2025). Israel: Evidence Suggests Journalist Killed in Gaza Was Not a Hamas Member. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/08/12/israel-evidence-suggests-journalist-killed-gaza-was-not-hamas-member
[5] Amnesty International (2025). Israel: Evidence Suggests Journalist Killed in Gaza Was Not a Hamas Member. Retrieved from https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/08/israel-evidence-suggests-journalist-killed-in-gaza-was-not-a-hamas-member/
- The targeted killing of Anas Al-Sharif, a prominent journalist from the Middle East, sparked global outrage and was widely condemned by press freedom organizations, general news outlets, and political entities, such as the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), due to the lack of credible independent evidence linking him to war-and-conflicts activities or crime-and-justice affiliations.
- Al-Sharif's assassination and the ongoing violence against media workers in the Gaza war have raised serious concerns about the safety of journalists worldwide, as CPJ's report on the matter points out, citing "Multiple Journalist Casualties" as a pattern in the Middleeast.
- The Israeli military's claims that Al-Sharif was a Hamas operative have been met with skepticism and denial by various international entities, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, who assert that there is no evidence publicly available to substantiate such allegations against the journalist who identified himself as a general-news reporter with no political affiliations.
