Israeli Airstrike Kills Al Jazeera Journalist Anas al-Sharif in Gaza — Press Freedom Groups Call it a War Crime

Gaza City – Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Anas al-Sharif was killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting a press tent outside al-Shifa Hospital. The strike also claimed the lives of four of his colleagues and two other civilians.

Press freedom organizations, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), condemned the attack as a “blatant and premeditated assault on press freedom” and a war crime under international law. They accused Israel of deliberately targeting journalists to silence independent reporting from Gaza.

Israel had previously alleged—without presenting credible evidence—that al-Sharif was a Hamas member. The UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression had dismissed the claim as “unsubstantiated.” Following the strike, the Israeli military doubled down, claiming al-Sharif “posed as a journalist” and led a Hamas cell—assertions Al Jazeera and CPJ have categorically rejected.

Al-Sharif, 28, leaves behind a wife and two young children. Known for his fearless frontline coverage, he documented the devastation of Israeli bombardments since the war began. In a final message, prepared in case of his death, he wrote: “I have never hesitated to convey the truth. Do not forget Gaza.”

This killing adds to the growing list of Palestinian journalists slain by Israeli forces—acts widely condemned as systematic attempts to erase eyewitness accounts of Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza.

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