An Israeli airstrike in Gaza has killed an Al Jazeera journalist, with the military claiming he was a Hamas leader—an accusation the news network strongly denies, intensifying an already fraught debate over press freedom and the risks faced by reporters in conflict zones, NBC News reports. Israel's military says Anas al-Sharif was operating under the guise of an Al Jazeera journalist in Gaza, but the media outlet says he was a legitimate reporter who, along with four colleagues, was killed in what it describes as a deliberate Israeli airstrike on a tent housing journalists in Gaza City.
Al Jazeera names the other victims as journalist Mohammed Qreiqeh and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa. The network is referring to the deaths as murders and as a "targeted assassination," the BBC reports. The outlet says 10 of its staffers have now been killed by Israeli forces since the Israel-Hamas war began in 2023.
The Israel Defense Forces say al-Sharif led a Hamas terror cell and was behind rocket attacks targeting Israeli civilians and troops. The military claims it has intelligence and documents linking him to Hamas, but did not make any evidence public. Al Jazeera counters that al-Sharif was a prominent correspondent who had focused on humanitarian crises in Gaza.
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Israel's labeling of journalists as militants has drawn criticism from press freedom advocates. The Committee to Protect Journalists says Israel has a history of making such accusations without offering credible proof, and condemned the targeting of reporters. "Journalists are civilians and must never be targeted," said CPJ's Sara Qudah.
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