Al Jazeera denies allegations that the slain journalist in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza was a member of a Hamas operative unit.
In a tragic turn of events, Anas Al Sharif, a journalist for Al Jazeera covering the ongoing conflict in Gaza, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Sunday. The Israeli military has claimed that Al Sharif was an active member of Hamas’s military wing involved in militant activities, but these assertions have been widely denounced as unfounded and dangerous by press freedom and human rights advocates.
The UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, Irene Khan, condemned the Israeli army’s threats and accusations against Al Sharif as unfounded and dangerous attempts to endanger his life and suppress independent journalistic coverage of the Gaza conflict. Khan highlighted a pattern of targeting journalists based on unproven claims of terrorist affiliations.
Al Jazeera and various press freedom organizations have rejected Israel’s allegations, characterizing them as a campaign of incitement against Al Sharif. His death occurred after a strike near a hospital tent for journalists, further intensifying concerns about deliberate targeting of media personnel.
Israel’s military maintains that Al Sharif was an active Hamas operative and presented some intelligence to support this claim, but no independent evidence has been publicly verified. Numerous international observers view Israel’s refusal to allow foreign journalists into Gaza and its targeting of local journalists as attempts to restrict transparency and reporting on the ground.
The Hamas-run Gaza government media office reported that 238 journalists have been killed since the war started on October 7th, 2023. This alarming figure was also reported by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). The CPJ urged the international community to protect Al Sharif and stated that Israel had failed to provide any evidence to back up its allegations against him.
Four colleagues of Al Sharif were also killed in the same airstrike. Al Jazeera reported that the journalists killed were Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, and Mohammed Noufal, in addition to Al Sharif. The attack on the journalists was condemned by journalists and rights groups as a grave breach of international humanitarian law.
The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is the deadliest on record for journalists, according to the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs' Costs of War project. The killing of Al Sharif and his colleagues has sparked widespread condemnation and calls for an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has announced plans for a new offensive to dismantle Hamas strongholds in Gaza. Palestinian militant group Hamas has stated that the killing of journalists like Al Sharif may signal the start of this offensive. Hamas also condemned the assassination of journalists and the intimidation of those who remain as a major crime.
In his final social media message before his death, Al Sharif wrote, "...I never hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or misrepresentation, hoping that God would witness those who remained silent." He had over 500,000 followers on social media and was known for his courageous and unbiased reporting from the frontlines of the conflict.
The international community must take action to ensure the safety of journalists in conflict zones and hold those responsible for attacks against them accountable. The killing of Anas Al Sharif is a tragic reminder of the dangers faced by journalists in their pursuit of truth and justice.
[1] UN News, "UN expert condemns Israeli army’s threats against Al Jazeera journalist in Gaza", 17 August 2023. [2] Committee to Protect Journalists, "Israeli military continues to threaten and harass journalists in Gaza", 18 August 2023. [3] Al Jazeera, "Israeli military alleges Al Jazeera journalist is Hamas member", 8 October 2023.
- The alarming increase in the targeting of journalists, as exemplified by the death of Anas Al Sharif, highlights the need for the international community to address war-and-conflicts-related politics and general-news issues, including the protection of journalists in conflict zones.
- The ongoing war-and-conflicts in Gaza, characterized by the killing of Anas Al Sharif and other journalists, has raised concerns about crime-and-justice issues, such as the deliberate targeting of media personnel and the suppression of free press, as well as the need for independent investigations to hold those responsible accountable.
