Israel takes credit for targeted killing of Al Jazeera’s Gaza news crew

Five Media Workers Die in Targeted Attack on Journalist Tent in Gaza City

Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif has been killed alongside four colleagues in a targeted Israeli attack on a tent housing journalists in Gaza City on August 10, 2025. The attack occurred near the main gate of Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital late on Sunday evening, killing journalists Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh, along with camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa.

Al-Sharif, a well-known 28-year-old Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who had reported extensively from northern Gaza, wrote on X shortly before being killed that Israel had launched intense, concentrated bombardment on the eastern and southern parts of Gaza City.

Israeli Military Claims, Disputed by Media Organizations

In a statement confirming the deliberate killing of al-Sharif, Israel’s military accused the journalist of heading a Hamas cell and “advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and [Israeli] troops”. It also alleged that it had documents providing “unequivocal proof” of his involvement with the Palestinian group.

Muhammed Shehada, an analyst at the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, said there was “zero evidence” that al-Sharif took part in any hostilities. “His entire daily routine was standing in front of a camera from morning to evening,” he told Al Jazeera.

Last month, after Israeli army spokesperson Avichai Adraee reshared a video on social media accusing al-Sharif of being a member of Hamas’s military wing, the United Nations special rapporteur on freedom of expression, Irene Khan, said she was “deeply alarmed by repeated threats and accusations of the Israeli army” against al-Sharif.

Previous Warnings About Al-Sharif’s Safety

“Fears for al-Sharif’s safety are well-founded as there is growing evidence that journalists in Gaza have been targeted and killed by the Israeli army on the basis of unsubstantiated claims that they were Hamas terrorists,” Khan said.

The Al Jazeera Media Network had recently denounced the Israeli military for what it called a “campaign of incitement” against its reporters in the Gaza Strip, including, most notably, al-Sharif. The Committee to Protect Journalists last month said it was gravely concerned for the journalist’s safety as he was being “targeted by an Israeli military smear campaign”.

Al-Sharif’s Final Message

At 11:24 p.m., about 15 minutes before reports of his death, al-Sharif tweeted to his 537,000 followers, and posted the same message on Telegram, where he had 137,000 followers: “Relentless bombing. For two hours now, the Israeli attack on Gaza City has been intensifying.”

An hour before his passing, Anas took to X with a message to his followers. The Palestinian journalist wrote, “To Whom It May Concern, The occupation is now openly threatening a full-scale invasion of Gaza. For 22 months, the city has been bleeding under relentless bombardment from land, sea, and air. Tens of thousands have been killed, and hundreds of thousands wounded.”

International Response and Condemnation

Al Jazeera correspondent Hani Mahmoud told Al Jazeera following al-Sharif’s death: “This is perhaps the hardest thing I’m reporting about the past 22 months. I’m not far from al-Shifa hospital, just one block away, and I could hear the massive explosion that took place in the past half an hour or so, near al-Shifa hospital…It’s important to highlight that this attack is just a week after an Israeli military official directly accused Anas and directly ran a campaign of incitement on Al Jazeera and correspondents on the ground because of their work, because of their relentless reporting on the starvation and the famine and the malnutrition, because they are bringing the truth to the screen for everyone.”

Nerve Analysis: Annexation

The killing of Anas al-Sharif and his colleagues represents a calculated escalation in what military analysts recognize as systematic information warfare. Israel has killed upwards of 200 journalists in Gaza since October 2023, a casualty rate that exceeds the combined journalist deaths from World War I, World War II, Vietnam, Korea, Yugoslavia, and Afghanistan. This unprecedented targeting of media personnel coincides with Israel’s announcement of plans for permanent territorial control over Gaza.

The systematic nature of these killings becomes evident when analyzed through standard military doctrine on information control. Israel has implemented a comprehensive media suppression strategy: banning foreign correspondents from entering Gaza, systematically targeting local journalists with pre-assassination “terrorist” accusations, destroying media infrastructure, and specifically eliminating Al Jazeera personnel who have documented humanitarian violations.

The direct targeting of Al Jazeera’s workers indicates a strategic priority to control information during Israel’s official permanent takeover of Gaza. Al Jazeera, with its extensive Arabic-language reach and documentation of civilian casualties, represents the primary remaining voice capable of broadcasting real-time evidence of military operations to international audiences. Ten Al Jazeera staff members have been killed since October 2023, with the network’s remaining correspondents subjected to systematic intimidation campaigns before being eliminated.

Military strategists recognize information dominance as essential for territorial consolidation operations. By eliminating independent witnesses and controlling narrative flow, military forces can conduct population displacement and infrastructure seizure with reduced international oversight. The timing of intensified journalist targeting alongside Netanyahu’s announced plans for expanded Gaza operations suggests coordinated preparation for actions requiring reduced media scrutiny.

The unprecedented scale of journalist casualties – averaging 13 deaths per month compared to single digits across entire previous conflicts – indicates systematic implementation rather than collateral damage. Reporters Without Borders has documented 35 cases of apparent direct targeting, while the Committee to Protect Journalists classifies 17 cases as outright murders of media personnel.

This information suppression strategy aligns with classic annexation doctrine: establish territorial control, eliminate independent documentation capabilities, and present accomplished facts to the international community. The elimination of Gaza’s press corps removes the primary mechanism for real-time documentation of population displacement, infrastructure seizure, and civilian casualty patterns during permanent territorial incorporation operations.