Gaza City – Five journalists of the Al Jazeera media network, including a well-known correspondent, Anas Al-Sharif, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a tent where journalists were staying near the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

The incident, which also took the lives of reporter Mohammed Qreiqeh and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa, has led to a new wave of international condemnation and exposed the threats journalists are exposed to in the war zone.

Al Jazeera described the attack as a premeditated and brazen attack on the freedom of the press and accused Israel of intentionally targeting its journalists. Qatar-based media group said in a statement, “The order to assassinate Anas Al Sharif, one of Gaza’s bravest journalists, and his colleagues, is a desperate attempt to silence the voices exposing the impending seizure and occupation of Gaza.”

The Israeli military, although acknowledging the attack, accused Al-Sharif of being a Hamas terrorist who disguised journalism as a cover, and said they had intelligence indicating he was a member.

Press freedom groups, however, have denounced these allegations, with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) saying it was “horrified” at the deaths, and that a trend had been established in which Israel accuses journalists of being militants, without presenting any reliable evidence.

The death of Al-Sharif (28) attracted special attention. He had emerged as one of the most familiar voices reporting the war from the frontlines. Hours before he died, he shared a social media video reporting on what he called “intense, focused Israeli bombardment.”

A moving final message, to be made public in case of his death, was also posted, where he wrote, “I have never been reluctant to tell the truth, the way it is, without distorting it or misrepresenting it.”

The incident contributes to a dark record of journalists in Gaza. According to media watchdogs, more than 200 journalists and media workers have been killed since the war started in October 2023, the majority of them being Palestinian.

This figure is the largest in recent wars. Following the continued conflicts, agencies such as the CPJ have continued to demand independent investigations into such attacks and protection of journalists as non-combatant civilians.