Journalist Anas al Sharif was one of five Al Jazeera staff members killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza. Sharif had been afraid he was being targeted for assassination. Moamen Aliwa, Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Mohammed Qreiqeh were among the coworkers that perished with Al Sharif.
Al Sharif is a “terrorist” and the leader of a Hamas terrorist cell that launches rocket assaults against Israeli soldiers and civilians, according to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), which verified the strike.
The Israeli military was allegedly smearing al Sharif, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which recently expressed “grave” worries regarding his safety.
Al Jazeera denounced the strike as “yet another blatant and premeditated attack on press freedom” and a “targeted assassination.”
Last month, al Sharif spoke openly about living with the constant fear of being killed, saying his coverage “harms them and damages their image in the world.”
Since the latest conflict began in 2023, at least 186 journalists and media workers have died in Gaza, with foreign reporters barred from independent coverage.
The government of Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, called the killings “brutal and heinous,” and it accused Israel of purposefully targeting the tents of journalists next to al Shifa Hospital. It described it as a “full-fledged war crime aimed at silencing the truth and obliterating the traces of genocidal crimes.”
Anas al Sharif’s “last will and testament” was posted on X after his passing. It read, “If these words of mine reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice.”
The 28-year-old bemoaned his inability to watch his kids grow up and asked that people remember him or Gaza in their prayers.
Al Sharif’s father was killed in an Israeli airstrike in December 2023, according to the CPJ, after the journalist was threatened by Israeli officers who wanted him to cease his coverage.
In May of last year, Israel shut down the Al Jazeera television network there.
