Journalist slain in Israeli strike was a voice in war-torn Gaza

Israel's military targeted a tent for journalists in Gaza City late Sunday, killing seven people, including Anas al-Sharif, a reporter for Al Jazeera who drew millions of followers on social media and emerged as a top voice in the Arab world for his chronicling of the war in Gaza over the last 22 months.

- NABIH BULOS

ANAS al-Sharif, 28, of AI Jazeera and five other journalists were killed Sunday.

Killed alongside the 28-year-old Al-Sharif were Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Moamen Aliwa and their assistant Mohammed Noufal. A sixth journalist, freelancer Mohammad al-Khaldi, who was in a nearby tent, was also killed, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

In a statement, Al Jazeera, which is funded by the government of Qatar and has long had a fraught relationship with the Israeli government, described the killings as a "targeted assassination" that was "yet another blatant and premeditated attack on press freedom."

"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 statement said, referring to the Israeli government's recently approved plans for its military to take over the Palestinian enclave.

"AI Jazeera emphasizes that immunity for perpetrators and the lack of accountability embolden Israel's actions and encourage further oppression against witnesses to the truth," the broadcaster's statement said.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani also excoriated Israel, saying in a statement on X that "the deliberate targeting of journalists by Israel in the Gaza Strip reveals how these crimes are beyond imagination." Israel's military confirmed it conducted the attack, issuing a statement shortly before midnight Monday saying it struck "the terrorist Anas Al-Sharif" who it said "posed as a journalist" but "served as the head of a terrorist cell" in the militant group Hamas.