Israeli Airstrike K!lls Five Al Jazeera Journalists in Gaza

Five journalists working for Al Jazeera were among seven people killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza on Sunday night.

One of the victims, Anas al-Sharif, a well-known correspondent who had been reporting from the city since the outbreak of the crisis in October 2023, was struck near the main entrance of a hospital.

He was killed alongside fellow correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and three cameramen — Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa.

Shortly after the attack, the Israeli forces claimed responsibility for the attack, describing Mr al-Sharif as a member of a “Hamas terrorist organisation” who “posed as a journalist for Al Jazeera.”

Citing intelligence and documents found in Gaza as evidence, the Israeli Military, in a statement, claimed, “Anas al-Sharif served as the head of a terrorist cell in the Hamas terrorist organisation and was responsible for advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops.”

According to Al Jazeera’s managing editor, Mohamed Moawad, Mr al-Sharif, an accredited journalist, was “the only voice” for the world to know what was happening in the Gaza Strip.

Since the war began, Israel has barred international journalists from freely entering Gaza, and so many news outlets depend on local reporters there for coverage.

“They were targeted in their tent, they weren’t covering from the front line,” said Mr Moawad, according to the BBC.