Gaza (BN24) – A funeral was held Monday in Gaza for five Al Jazeera journalists killed in what the network has described as a targeted Israeli airstrike, an attack the United Nations has condemned as a “grave breach of international law.”
Correspondents Anas Al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh, camera operators Ibrahim Zaher and Moamen Aliwa, and their assistant Mohammed Noufal died when a strike hit a tent near Al Shifa Hospital on Sunday night. A sixth journalist, freelance reporter Mohammad al Khaldi, was also killed, according to medics at the hospital.
The Israeli military said Al-Sharif, one of Gaza’s most prominent correspondents, was a senior Hamas operative who posed as a journalist, alleging he was paid by both Hamas and Al Jazeera. The military said it had only released a small, declassified portion of its intelligence to support the claim — allegations strongly rejected by Al Jazeera, Al-Sharif himself before his death, and the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Al Jazeera called the deaths “a targeted assassination” and said the journalists were among the last voices documenting the devastation inside Gaza. In a statement, the network accused Israeli forces of a “blatant and premeditated attack on press freedom” and of trying to silence coverage of the ongoing military campaign.
The UN secretary-general condemned the killings and called for an independent and impartial investigation, warning they underscored the extreme dangers facing journalists covering the war. The UN’s human rights office also labelled the strike a serious violation of international humanitarian law.
According to the UN, at least 242 journalists have been killed in Gaza since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, Israeli authorities say. Of the 50 hostages believed to still be in Gaza, 20 are thought to be alive.
Gaza health officials report that more than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive. Calls for international media access to the territory have grown, with journalists and diplomats urging Israel to allow reporting from the ground. Palestinian envoy to the UN Riyad Mansour challenged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to let Security Council members into Gaza “and take journalists with you so that you can verify exactly what is happening.”
