An Israeli military strike on Gaza Sunday evening claimed seven lives, including five Al Jazeera media personnel, according to CNN’s reporting.
The casualties included Anas Al-Sharif, a distinguished Al Jazeera correspondent recognized for his persistent war coverage since the conflict’s inception.
The Israeli military claimed Al-Sharif operated a Hamas unit launching rockets at Israeli civilians and military personnel — allegations both the journalist and his media organization had previously rejected. Al Jazeera denounced the attack as a “desperate attempt to silence voices” before what it termed the “occupation of Gaza.”
The strike also claimed the lives of correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh, photojournalists Ibrahim Al Thaher and Moamen Aliwa, and staff member Mohammed Noufal, CNN reported. Dr. Mohammad Abu Salmiya, the Al-Shifa Hospital director, confirmed they were stationed in a tent marked “Press” near the hospital entrance.
In his final social media message before his death, Al-Sharif wrote: “If this madness does not stop, Gaza will be reduced to rubble, its voices silenced, its faces erased — and history will remember you as silent witnesses to a genocide you chose not to stop.”
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights denounced the attack, describing it as a “grave breach of international humanitarian law” and reiterating calls for Israel to “respect and protect all civilians, including journalists.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) expressed horror and criticized Israel’s “long-documented practice of portraying journalists as terrorists without providing credible evidence.” Sara Qudah, the CPJ’s regional director, declared: “Israel wiped out an entire news team… This is murder, plain and simple.”
CPJ statistics indicate 186 journalists have died since the conflict began approximately two years ago, with 178 Palestinians “killed by Israel.” CNN highlighted that Israel maintains its ban on foreign journalists entering Gaza for independent reporting, while Palestinian journalists, including Al Jazeera staff, face the same severe living conditions as other residents.
Al-Sharif, aged 28, left behind a wife and two children. In a recorded message released after his death, he implored his family and fellow journalists “not to be silenced” and to “continue carrying the message” until the “liberation of the land and its people.”
CNN reported that a funeral procession moved through Gaza’s streets on Monday to honor the deceased.
