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An Israeli airstrike killed Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif and four fellow journalists in Gaza City, the broadcaster said.
Al-Sharif, 28, one of the TV news channel’s most prominent voices in Gaza, was killed along with reporter Mohammed Qreiqeh, and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa.
The Israeli strike targeted a tent where the journalists were sheltering at the Al Shifa medical complex in Gaza City, hospital director Dr Muhammad Abu Salmiya told The Independent.
He said a total of seven people were killed in the attack.
"This is my last will and testament,” a lengthy heart-breaking statement posted to Al-Sharif’s X account after his death read. “If these words of mine reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice.”
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“Do not forget Gaza,” the post concluded. “And do not forget me in your sincere prayers for forgiveness and acceptance.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists, CPJ, warned last month it was gravely concerned for Al-Sharif's safety as he was being "targeted by an Israeli military smear campaign” and the unfounded accusations “represented an effort to manufacture consent to kill Al-Sharif”.
Al Jazeera denounced the “targeted assassination” of its crew as "yet another blatant and premeditated attack on press freedom".
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Remains of a tent in the Shifa hospital complex where Al-Sharif and his colleagues were killed(Reuters)
The broadcaster said Israel had killed 10 of its journalists during the war on Gaza so far, including Samer Abudaqqa, Ismael Al-Ghoul, Ahmed Al-Louh, Hossam Shabat and Hamza Dahdouh – son of the channel’s Gaza bureau chief Wael Dahdouh – as well as many of the family members of its employees.
"Anas Al Sharif and his colleagues were among the last remaining voices in Gaza conveying the tragic reality to the world," Al Jazeera said.
Dr Salmiya said the latest Israeli strike damaged a section of the hospital's emergency department. He said his message was to “stop the war of extermination on Gaza”.
“Protect medical facilities, medical personnel, and journalists, allow medicine and food into Gaza, and open the crossings,” he pleaded.
The Israeli military alleged on Sunday Al-Sharif "posed as a journalist", confirming it had targeted and killed him.
"Anas al-Sharif served as the head of a terrorist cell in the Hamas terrorist organisation and was responsible for advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops," the military said.
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A relative mourns over the body of one of the five Palestinian journalists killed by Israel in December 2024(AP)
The CPJ had repeatedly sought the protection of Al-Sharif, noting that he had been “a key source of news from Gaza for international audiences since the war began more than 650 days ago” and warning that he was at risk of being killed by Israel.
A UN expert previously warned that Al-Sharif's life was in danger due to his reporting from Gaza. Special rapporteur Irene Khan said last month Israel's claims against him were unsubstantiated.
The CPJ said Israel had failed to provide any evidence to back up its allegations against the slain journalist.
“Israel’s pattern of labelling journalists as militants without providing credible evidence raises serious questions about its intent and respect for press freedom,” said Sara Qudah, the group’s director for the Middle East and North Africa.
Ms Qudah warned two weeks ago that the danger to Al-Sharif’s life was “now acute”.
Reporters without Borders said Israel had killed more than 200 journalists in Gaza since October 2023, an unprecedented number. The Gaza government’s media office said at least 237 journalists had been killed in the war while the CPJ put the number at at least 186.
Nearly 70 per cent of the journalists killed globally last year were slain by Israel, the CPJ said. In fact, Israel’s killing of journalists in Gaza was primarily responsible for making 2024 the deadliest year on record for journalists.
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Al Jazeera journalist Wael Dahdouh holds the hand of his son who was killed by Israel in Rafah in January 2024(AP)
Hamas said the latest killing of journalists could signal the start of an Israeli offensive. "The assassination of journalists and the intimidation of those who remain paves the way for a major crime that the occupation is planning to commit in Gaza City," the Palestinian group said in a statement.
The Israeli military targeted and killed the Al Jazeera crew just hours after prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised, at a press conference in Jerusalem, to let some foreign media into Gaza.
Mr Netanyahu is facing internal and global uproar for his decision to push through a plan to widen Israel’s devastating offensive in Gaza, with the aim of imposing full military control on the besieged territory.
Some Israelis fear that the plan will endanger the lives of hostages, drag the military into a protracted, unwinnable war, and worsen the humanitarian catastrophe for Palestinian civilians.
But, on Sunday, Mr Netanyahu doubled down on the plan.
Israel launched a devastating ground and air assault on Gaza and a crippling blockade after around 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage during a Hamas raid in October 2023. Almost 50 hostages and captives remain in Gaza, although less than 30 are thought to still be alive.
Israel war has killed more than 61,000 people, destroyed over 90 per cent of the territory, displaced most of its 2.2 million people and caused a widespread famine, according to the Palestinian health ministry and international aid organisations