Gaza City (Prime Africa) – Renowned Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Anas al-Sharif, 28, has been killed alongside four of his colleagues in what the network has condemned as a “premeditated attack on press freedom”.
The journalists were sheltering in a tent outside Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital on Sunday night when an Israeli airstrike hit, killing seven people in total. The attack claimed the lives of fellow Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa.
Shortly before his death, al-Sharif posted on X describing an “intense, concentrated bombardment” on eastern and southern Gaza City, a tactic known locally as “fire belts.” In his final recorded video, loud explosions echoed behind him as the night sky flashed with orange light.
In a farewell message, written in advance to be published upon his death, al-Sharif reflected on the toll of covering Gaza’s war:
“I lived the pain in all its details. I never hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or misrepresentation. Not even the mangled bodies of our children and women moved their hearts or stopped the massacre.”
He expressed grief at leaving behind his wife, Bayan, and not witnessing the childhood of his son Salah and daughter Sham.
In a strongly worded statement, Al Jazeera accused Israel of “deliberately targeting journalists” and attempting to silence coverage of “the impending seizure and occupation of Gaza”.
The network called on the international community to take “decisive measures to halt the genocide and end impunity for those targeting journalists.”
The Israeli military alleged al-Sharif led a Hamas cell and coordinated rocket attacks, claiming to possess “unequivocal proof”. Al Jazeera and multiple rights groups dismissed the accusations as fabricated.
Muhammed Shehada of the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor stated there was “zero evidence” of any militant activity by al-Sharif:
“His entire daily routine was standing in front of a camera from morning to evening.”
Last month, UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression Irene Khan warned of repeated Israeli threats against al-Sharif, calling them part of a pattern of targeting Gaza journalists based on unsubstantiated claims.
The Committee to Protect Journalists recently expressed “grave concern” for al-Sharif’s safety, citing a smear campaign by the Israeli military. Since October 2023, more than 200 reporters and media workers have been killed in Gaza, many of them with their families, according to rights monitors.
Al Jazeera correspondent Hani Mahmoud, who was nearby when the strike occurred, said:
“They were killed because they reported relentlessly on starvation, famine, and malnutrition in Gaza — because they brought the truth of this crime to the world.”
Prime Africa News will continue monitoring developments and calls for independent investigations into attacks on journalists in conflict zones.
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