A deadly Israeli airstrike late Sunday night claimed the lives of five Al Jazeera journalists, including famed correspondent Anas Al Sharif, near the main gate of Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital, on August 10, 2025. The attack, which also killed Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa, has sparked fierce condemnation from media rights groups and intensified scrutiny over Israel’s targeting of journalists during the now 22-month-long war in Gaza.
Controversy Over Targeting and Accusations
Israel’s military confirmed it had targeted the group, alleging that Al Sharif was heading a Hamas militant cell involved in rocket attacks. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated on Telegram that “he served as the head of a terrorist cell in Hamas,” claiming the strike was aimed at a “terrorist cell” posing as journalists. However, these allegations have been met with skepticism by international watchdogs. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and a United Nations expert both rejected Israeli documents accusing six Al Jazeera journalists of militant ties as lacking credibility. CPJ regional director Sara Qudah warned just weeks ago that Sharif was being “targeted by an Israeli military smear campaign,” calling the accusations an attempt “to manufacture consent to kill Sharif.”
Al Jazeera decried the attack as a “premeditated assault on press freedom,” emphasizing that Anas Al Sharif and his colleagues were among the last reporters still covering Gaza’s humanitarian crisis for a global audience. “They were among the last remaining voices in Gaza conveying the tragic reality to the world,” the network said in a statement.
Award-Winning Journalist Silenced
The loss is particularly acute given Anas Al Sharif’s prominence. He was not only one of the most recognizable faces reporting from Gaza but also part of a Reuters team that won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography in 2024 for coverage of this same conflict. Mourners gathered on Monday for funerals in Gaza City, underscoring the deep sense of loss within both local and international journalistic communities.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed new offensives against remaining Hamas strongholds even as Gaza faces an escalating hunger crisis after nearly two years of war. Meanwhile, calls are mounting for independent investigations into attacks on journalists, with organizations insisting that such actions threaten not just individual reporters but global press freedom.
