Gaza, August 11, 2025: Six journalists, including prominent Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif, were killed in a targeted Israeli airstrike near Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital, in what the broadcaster described as “a blatant and premeditated attack on press freedom.”
Al Jazeera said Sharif, fellow correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh, and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa were in a tent for journalists at the hospital’s main gate when it was struck on Sunday. Medics later confirmed that local freelance reporter Mohammad Al-Khaldi also died in the attack, bringing the journalist death toll to six.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed it had targeted Sharif, alleging he was “head of a terrorist cell in Hamas” and had coordinated rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and troops. The IDF claimed to possess documents showing Sharif’s affiliation with a Hamas unit in 2019, but the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Israel had failed to provide evidence.
“This is a pattern we’ve seen from Israel — both in this war and in previous decades — where a journalist is killed and later labelled a terrorist, without substantive proof,” CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg told the BBC.
Al Jazeera managing editor Mohamed Moawad said Sharif was an accredited journalist and “the only voice for the world to know what was happening in the Gaza Strip.” He accused Israel of trying to “silence reporting from inside Gaza,” noting that the strike hit journalists “in their tent, not on the front lines.”
International media access to Gaza has been heavily restricted during the conflict, with outlets relying on local reporters for coverage. The UN’s special rapporteur on freedom of expression, Irene Khan, called Israel’s claims against Sharif “unsubstantiated” and “a blatant assault on journalists.”
This is not the first time Al Jazeera journalists have been killed in targeted strikes. In August 2024, reporter Ismael al-Ghoul, cameraman Rami al-Rifi, and a bystander were killed when their car was hit in Gaza; the IDF later alleged al-Ghoul took part in Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attacks, a claim the network rejected.
According to CPJ, 186 journalists have been killed in Gaza since Israel’s military offensive began following the Hamas-led October 7 assault on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says more than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began.
Journalists in Gaza face extreme risks beyond airstrikes, including severe food shortages. Last month, the BBC, Reuters, AP, and AFP warned that local journalists they work with are increasingly unable to feed themselves or their families, with some collapsing on the job. Over 100 aid and rights groups have warned of mass starvation, while Israel — which controls aid entry — has accused charities of “serving Hamas propaganda.”
