Gaza City: Anas al-Sharif, one of Al Jazeera’s most recognizable journalists in Gaza and a veteran frontline correspondent, was killed late Sunday along with four colleagues when an Israeli airstrike hit a tent for reporters outside al-Shifa hospital.
The strike, which killed seven people in total, has sparked global outrage and renewed accusations that Israel is systematically targeting journalists covering the war.
Al Jazeera confirmed the deaths of correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa alongside Anas al-Sharif.
The Israel Defense Force (IDF) admitted to the strike, alleging that al-Sharif was head of a terrorist cell in the Hamas organization and involved in planning rocket attacks. It claimed intelligence documents from Gaza supported the assertion.
Rights advocates and press freedom groups swiftly rejected the claims, noting the absence of verifiable evidence and pointing to a pattern of what they called smear tactics against journalists.
This is my will and my final message. If these words reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice. First, peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings.
Allah knows I gave every effort and all my strength to be a support and a voice for my…
— أنس الشريف Anas Al-Sharif (@AnasAlSharif0) August 10, 2025
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned the attack with regional director Sara Qudah stating that, “Israel’s pattern of labelling journalists as militants without credible evidence raises serious questions about its intent and respect for press freedom. Journalists are civilians and must never be targeted.”
Al-Sharif, 28, had been repeatedly threatened by Israeli officials in recent months. In July, he told the CPJ that he lived with the feeling that he could be bombed and martyred at any moment.
Just last month, Israeli military spokesperson Avichai Adraee publicly accused him of belonging to Hamas’ armed wing. Despite losing his father in an Israeli strike on their Jabalia refugee camp home in December 2023, al-Sharif refused to leave northern Gaza, vowing to continue reporting “without distortion or falsification.”
Moments before the airstrike, al-Sharif posted on X, “Breaking: Intense, concentrated Israeli bombardment using ‘fire belts’ is hitting the eastern and southern areas of Gaza City.”
Breaking: Intense, concentrated Israeli bombardment using “fire belts” is hitting the eastern and southern areas of Gaza City.
— أنس الشريف Anas Al-Sharif (@AnasAlSharif0) August 10, 2025
In a message scheduled to be posted after his death, he wrote of enduring “pain in all its details” but never hesitating to “convey the truth.” He condemned those who “stayed silent” in the face of Gaza’s suffering.
He leaves behind his wife and two young children. The attack is the latest in a string of killings of Al Jazeera journalists and their families. In recent months, Israel has killed Hossam Shabat in March, Ismail al-Ghoul and cameraman Rami al-Rifi in August, and the family members of chief correspondent Wael al-Dahdouh in October 2023.
Since the war began on October 7, 2023, Gaza’s government media office says 237 journalists have been killed, while CPJ records at least 186. Israel has barred foreign journalists from entering Gaza and denies deliberately targeting media workers.
