An Israeli airstrike on Sunday night targeted a tent outside the gates of the al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and killed five Al Jazeera journalists, including 28-year-old Anas al-Sharif, a well-known reporter who had a large following on X.
Al Jazeera said that the other four journalists killed in the bombing were correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and three cameramen: Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa. Two other people were also killed in the bombing.
Just minutes before he was killed, al-Sharif said in a post on X that Israel was escalating its bombing of Gaza City. “Relentless bombardment,” he wrote. “For two hours, the Israeli aggression has intensified on Gaza City.”
The Israeli military acknowledged that it deliberately targeted al-Sharif, claiming without evidence that he was a “Hamas terrorist” who “posed as an Al Jazeera journalist.” Last month, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued a warning about the Israeli military’s smears against Sharif, saying it was likely a precursor to his assassination.
“We are deeply alarmed by the repeated threats made by Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee against Al Jazeera’s Gaza correspondent Anas al-Sharif and call on the international community to protect him,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah.
“This is not the first time Al-Sharif has been targeted by the Israeli military, but the danger to his life is now acute. Israel has killed at least six Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza during this war. These latest unfounded accusations represent an effort to manufacture consent to kill al-Sharif,” Qudah added.
In a post on X at the time, al-Sharif responded to the Israeli smears against him. “I reaffirm: I, Anas al-Sharif, am a journalist with no political affiliations. My only mission is to report the truth from the ground — as it is, without bias,” he said. “At a time when a deadly famine is ravaging Gaza, speaking the truth has become, in the eyes of the occupation, a threat.”
Al-Sharif left behind a wife and two young children. “Do not forget Gaza,” al-Sharif said in a statement he asked to have released if he were killed. “And do not forget me in your sincere prayers for forgiveness and acceptance.”
Israel has frequently targeted Palestinian journalists in Gaza throughout its genocidal war. Gaza’s Government Media Office said that the Sunday night bombing brought the total number of journalists killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023, to 237.