GAZA CITY — An Israeli airstrike on Sunday killed five Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza, including well-known correspondent Anas al-Sharif, as tensions and criticism over the war continued to rise.
Witnesses said the strike hit a tent set up for journalists outside Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. The attack killed Sharif, 28, and colleagues Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa. Hospital officials reported that freelance journalist Mohammed al-Khaldi also died in the strike.
Funeral processions drew large crowds in Gaza. Mourners carried the journalists’ bodies, wrapped in white shrouds, through bomb-damaged streets. Many wore blue press vests in tribute.
The Israeli military confirmed it targeted Sharif, alleging he was a Hamas member involved in planning rocket attacks. Al Jazeera strongly rejected the accusation, calling the strike an attack on press freedom.
International condemnation followed. The UN human rights office called the strike a “grave breach of international humanitarian law.” Media rights groups demanded independent investigations, accusing Israel of a pattern of labeling journalists as militants without credible evidence.
Sharif, one of Al Jazeera’s most recognized reporters in Gaza, had covered the war daily for nearly two years. A message he wrote months earlier, published after his death, urged people not to forget Gaza.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel would soon launch a new phase of its Gaza offensive, despite growing criticism from within his government over the war strategy.
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