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Deadliest Day for Press Freedom: Israeli Attack on Gaza Journalists Sparks Outrage
Minutes before his death, he reported on nearby bombardments. In a prepared farewell post shared after his death, Anas al-Sharif wrote: “I never hesitated for a single day to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification.”
In a strike that has drawn international condemnation, Israel’s military killed five Al Jazeera journalists and two others in a targeted airstrike outside Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital on Sunday evening, raising urgent questions about press freedom and civilian safety in conflict zones. The victims included prominent correspondents Anas al-Sharif, 28, and Mohamed Qureiqa, 33, along with cameramen Ibrahim Zaher and Moamen Aliwa, and assistant Mohammed Noufal. Hospital officials confirmed the attack destroyed the journalists’ media tent and damaged the hospital’s emergency entrance.
Al Jazeera called the strike a “targeted assassination”, linking it to an Israeli smear campaign that had accused Anas al-Sharif and others of being members of Hamas — claims the network and the journalists consistently denied. The Israeli military alleged al-Sharif led a Hamas cell but has not presented evidence.
“Anas and his colleagues were among the last remaining voices from within Gaza, providing the world with unfiltered, on-the-ground coverage,” Al Jazeera said in a statement, accusing Israel of trying to silence reporting on the war’s human toll.
This is not the first time journalists in Gaza have been targeted. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that at least 186 journalists have been killed in the territory since the war began in October 2023, with nearly 270 media workers lost according to other tallies — making it the deadliest conflict for journalists in modern history.
The loss of Anas al-Sharif is particularly striking. Known for his emotional and fearless reporting, he often covered the aftermath of bombings, starvation, and mass displacement. Minutes before his death, he reported on nearby bombardments. In a prepared farewell post shared after his death, Anas al-Sharif wrote: “I never hesitated for a single day to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification.”
Qureiqa, a father of two, had also endured months of separation from his family during the war. The two journalists reunited briefly with their children during a short ceasefire earlier this year, a moment made bittersweet when their children did not initially recognize them.
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Rights groups, including the CPJ and the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, have warned that such strikes appear to be part of a systematic campaign to suppress independent reporting from Gaza. “Israel’s pattern of labeling journalists as militants without providing credible evidence raises serious questions about its intent and respect for press freedom,” said CPJ’s regional director, Sara Qudah.
Al Jazeera is one of the few international outlets still maintaining a significant reporting presence inside Gaza. International journalists have been largely barred from entering, making these correspondents critical in documenting the humanitarian crisis.
As the war grinds on, the deaths of Anas al-Sharif, Qureiqa, and their colleagues not only deprive Gaza of some of its most fearless voices but also deepen the crisis for global press freedom — a reminder that in modern warfare, the battle over truth can be as deadly as the one on the ground.
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