Al Jazeera’s Anas al-Sharif and Four Colleagues Killed in Israeli Strike in Gaza

A prominent Al Jazeera correspondent, Anas al-Sharif, and four colleagues were killed when an Israeli strike hit a tent used by journalists near Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital late Sunday, the network said, calling it a targeted attack on the press.

Al Jazeera identified the other victims as correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh, camera operators Ibrahim Zaher and Moamen Aliwa, and their assistant Mohammed Noufal. The outlet said seven people were killed in total when the tent was struck outside the hospital’s main gate.

The Israel Defense Forces said the strike targeted a “terrorist cell,” asserting that al-Sharif was involved in militant activity—claims Al Jazeera and press-freedom groups reject as unfounded. The Committee to Protect Journalists said similar accusations had previously been used to justify violence against reporters.

Funerals for the journalists were held Monday in Gaza City, where colleagues and relatives gathered to mourn. Press-freedom researchers say the Gaza war is the deadliest on record for journalists.

Al Jazeera condemned the strike as a “premeditated assassination” and urged international bodies to hold Israel accountable. The network said the attack followed days of heavy bombardment across the city that al-Sharif had been documenting in live reports and videos.

The strike comes amid a renewed phase of Israeli operations around northern Gaza. Israel has previously accused some Gaza-based journalists of affiliation with Hamas, while rights groups have warned against criminalizing reporters and demanded independent investigations into journalist deaths. The Financial Times reported that the military declined to address questions about the strike’s timing and the journalists’ known broadcast locations.

Al Jazeera said the killings underscore the escalating risks for media workers covering the 22-month war. International outlets reported that al-Sharif had become one of the most recognisable on-the-ground voices for Arabic-language audiences throughout the conflict.