Israel Brags About Killing Al Jazeera Journalists In Gaza

A prominent Al Jazeera journalist, who had previously been threatened by Israel, was killed along with four colleagues in an Israeli airstrike on Sunday in an attack condemned by journalists and rights groups, Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell reported for Reuters.

Al Sharif, whose X account had more than 500,000 followers, posted on the platform minutes before his death that Israel had been intensely bombarding Gaza City for more than two hours. (Photo: أنس الشريف Anas Al-Sharif X)

Israel’s military said it targeted and killed Anas Al Sharif, alleging he had led a Hamas militant cell and was involved in rocket attacks on Israel.

Al Jazeera, which is funded by the Qatari government, rejected the claim, and before his death Al Sharif had also denied such allegations by Israel.

“Anas Al Sharif and his colleagues were among the last remaining voices in Gaza conveying the tragic reality to the world,” Al Jazeera said.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, which in July had urged the international community to protect Al Sharif, said in a statement that Israel had failed to provide any evidence to support its allegations.

Al Sharif, whose X account had more than 500,000 followers, posted on the platform minutes before his death that Israel had been intensely bombarding Gaza City for more than two hours.

“The deliberate targeting of journalists by Israel in the Gaza Strip reveals how these crimes are beyond imagination,” Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said on X.

The UN human rights office condemned the killings, saying the actions by Israel’s military represented a “grave breach of international humanitarian law,” as Palestinians reported the heaviest bombardments in weeks.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is “gravely concerned” about the repeated targeting of journalists in Gaza, his spokesperson said.

Israel denies deliberately targeting journalists, saying many of those killed in Israeli airstrikes were members of Islamist militant groups working under the guise of the press.