LONDON: Condemnation is mounting worldwide after Israeli forces killed prominent Al Jazeera journalist Anas Al-Sharif and four of his colleagues in Gaza, with fellow reporters, rights groups and officials accusing Israel of deliberately targeting the reporter for his coverage.
Al-Sharif was killed alongside reporter Mohammed Qreiqeh and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa when an Israeli strike hit their tent in Gaza on Sunday.
Gaza’s civil defense agency said the strike also killed a Palestinian freelance journalist, Mohammed Al-Khaldi, who had succumbed to his wounds, bringing the total to six.
The IDF has admitted to carrying out the attack, and justified it by alleging Al-Sharif was a “terrorist.”
Reporters Without Borders condemned what it called the “acknowledged murder” of one of Al Jazeera’s most prominent correspondents in Gaza, noting that the Israeli Defence Forces openly targeted him and others.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said it was “appalled” by the killing, stressing that Israeli claims of Al- Sharif’s Hamas membership lacked evidence.
“Israel’s pattern of labeling journalists as militants without providing credible evidence raises serious questions about its intent and respect for press freedom,” said Sara Qudah, the CPJ’s director for the Middle East and North Africa.
The office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk issued a similar condemnation on Monday, saying Israel’s targeted killing of six journalists in Gaza was a “grave breach of international humanitarian law.”
Al-Sharif’s death came weeks after the CPJ and other organizations had warned of threats against him, following a post by IDF spokesperson Avichai Adraee on X accusing him of belonging to Hamas’ military wing.
The UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression Irene Khan at the time called the claim “unsubstantiated” and “a blatant assault on journalists.”
On Sunday night, the IDF repeated its allegations, claiming Al-Sharif was “head of a Hamas terrorist cell” and had orchestrated rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and troops while “posing as an Al Jazeera journalist.”
It cited “intelligence and documents from Gaza” — including rosters, training lists, and salary records — none of which Arab News could independently verify.
Israel has often been accused of making similar claims without substantiation, a pattern critics say is reinforced by the inability of independent foreign journalists to enter Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans on Sunday to allow some foreign reporters into the enclave, but only under military escort — a condition that press freedom groups warn would compromise journalistic independence.
Since the start of Israel’s 22-month siege of Gaza, Tel Aviv has killed nearly 200 journalists, with rights groups documenting cases of what they describe as direct, intentional strikes that could amount to war crimes.
Tributes to Al-Sharif, Qreiqeh, Zaher, Noufal and Aliwa have poured in, with many demanding accountability.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Ken Roth, the former executive director of Human Rights Watch, said silencing coverage of atrocities is a “despicable rationale” for killing journalists.
“This was a targeted killing,” Roth said. Israel’s “unsubstantiated, unilateral accusations” that Al-Sharif led a unit of Hamas “are worthless.”
“And when you couple that with the pattern of harassment against him, the efforts to silence him, it’s clear what’s going on,” Roth added.
Barry Malone, a former Al Jazeera editor and Reuters correspondent, described Al-Sharif as “our eyes” in Gaza, bringing “special emotion and depth” to his reporting.
Pulitzer Prize–winning Palestinian poet and former Israeli detainee Mosab Abu Toha accused Western media of a “deafening silence.” He said “not one of them voiced concern for the safety of Anas, or for the lives of the journalists systematically targeted and killed.”
“This silence is not neutrality. It is complicity,” he added in a post on X.
US Representative Pramila Jayapal also condemned the killing, urging Washington to halt arms supplies to Israel.
Al-Sharif’s final message, written on April 6 and published posthumously, was addressed to his wife, Umm Salah (Bayan), his son, Salah, and his loved ones. In the message he urged for the liberation of Palestine.
“This is my will and my final message. If these words reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice.
“I have lived through pain in all its details, tasted suffering and loss many times, yet I never once hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification.
“Do not forget Gaza … And do not forget me in your sincere prayers for forgiveness and acceptance.”
