In another Israel attack against Gaza, seven people died five journalists from the Qatar news agency, Al Jazeera, and a freelance reporter. Anas Al Sharif, 28 and one of the most renowned station, was one of the victims. The Israelis accuses him of leading a Hamas group terrorist cell.
In an official statement, the Israeli forces said, without blunt evidence, that the journalist was responsible for promoting rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and troops, and therefore would have Al Sharif as a target. They also claim that Hamas documents showed that the journalist was in units of the group in 2019.
Al Jazeera has not confirmed Al Sharif’s relationship with the terrorist group, as well as condemning the action, claiming that “the selective murder was another blatant attack and premeditated to press freedom.” The station also reported that drones bombing reached the tent in which the journalists were, which was positioned in front of the main gate of Al-Shifa Hospital in the city of Gaza.
The attack promoted many repercussions around the world. The Journalist Protection Committee (CPJ) said it was terrified of what happened and said that “the murders are standards of the Israeli army, who eliminate journalists and then say they were terrorists.” Also according to the CPJ, 106 correspondents have been killed since the beginning of the offensives in October 2023.
The spokesman of António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), requested investigations of the case. International animit ranked bombing as a war crime and the NGO Reporters Without Borders said that “the action silences the voices of the suffering that Israel imposes on the Palestinians at home every day.”
Since the beginning of the conflict, the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has banned international journalists from entering Gaza to cover the enclave. Thus, local reporters are responsible for passing the information to the world media.
