Gaza Mourns Six Journalists Killed in Israeli Strike

Gazans on Monday buried six journalists, including five Al Jazeera staff, killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City. Israel said one of the dead, prominent correspondent Anas al-Sharif, was a Hamas operative posing as a reporter, a claim the network strongly rejected.

Mourners gathered in the courtyard of Al-Shifa Hospital before carrying the bodies, wrapped in white shrouds, through bomb-damaged streets to the Sheikh Radwan cemetery. The dead included correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh, and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa. Freelance reporter Mohammed Al-Khaldi was also killed.

Al Jazeera said its team was hit while working in a tent outside Al-Shifa Hospital. The network accused Israel of a “desperate attempt to silence voices exposing the occupation,” noting repeated calls by Israeli officials to target Sharif and his colleagues.

The Israeli military said Sharif headed a Hamas cell involved in rocket attacks, publishing what it said was evidence of his militant role. The Committee to Protect Journalists has previously criticised Israel for labelling Gaza reporters as militants “without credible evidence.”

The killings brought renewed focus on the high toll among media workers in the conflict, with Reporters Without Borders saying nearly 200 journalists have been killed since the war began 22 months ago.

The strike came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu moved to expand Israel’s offensive to the remaining parts of Gaza outside military control, including much of Gaza City and Al-Mawasi, an area Israel had designated as a “safe zone.” The plan has drawn condemnation from international allies and prompted Germany to halt some arms shipments to Israel.

The war began after Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, which killed 1,219 people, according to Israeli figures. Gaza’s health ministry says Israel’s campaign has killed at least 61,430 Palestinians, figures the UN deems credible.