Gazans gathered on Monday for the funeral of five Al Jazeera staff members and a sixth reporter killed in an Israeli strike, with Israel calling one of them a “terrorist” affiliated with Hamas.
Dozens stood amid bombed-out buildings in the courtyard of Al-Shifa hospital to pay their respects to Anas al-Sharif, a prominent Al Jazeera correspondent aged 28, and four of his colleagues, killed on Sunday.
A sixth journalist, Mohammed Al-Khaldi who worked as a freelance reporter, was also killed in the strike that targeted the Al Jazeera team, according to the director of Al-Shifa Hospital, Dr Mohammed Abu Salmiya.
Their bodies, wrapped in white shrouds with their faces exposed, were carried through narrow alleys to their graves by mourners including men wearing blue journalists’ flak jackets.
Israel confirmed it had targeted Sharif, whom it labelled a “terrorist” affiliated with Hamas, saying he “posed as a journalist”.
Al Jazeera said its employees were hit in a tent set up for journalists outside the main gate of a hospital in Gaza City.
The four other staff members killed were Mohammed Qreiqeh, also a correspondent, and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa.
“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 (Israeli) troops,” the military said in a statement.
“The IDF had previously disclosed intelligence information and many documents found in the Gaza Strip, confirming his military affiliation to Hamas,” it said.
It published a graphic showing what it said was a list of Hamas operatives in northern Gaza, including Sharif’s name, as well as an image of him emblazoned with the word: “Eliminated”.
It also published a list it said showed Sharif had been paid $200 by Hamas after an injury, as well as a list it said was a Hamas battalion’s phone directory that included Sharif’s number.
Sharif was one of the channel’s most recognisable faces working on the ground in Gaza, providing daily reports on the now 22-month-old war.
– ‘One of the bravest’ –
A posthumous message, written in April in case of his death, was published on his account on Monday morning saying he had been silenced and urging people “not to forget Gaza”.
According to local journalists who knew him, Sharif had worked at the start of his career with a Hamas communication office, where his role was to publicise events organised by the militant group that has exercised total control over Gaza since 2006.
Following online posts by Israel’s Arabic-language military spokesman Avichay Adraee on Sharif, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called in July for his protection, accusing Israel of a “pattern” of labelling journalists militants “without providing credible evidence”.
It said the Israeli military had levelled similar accusations against other journalists in Gaza earlier in the war, including other Al Jazeera staff.
“International law is clear that active combatants are the only justified targets in a war setting, so unless the IDF can demonstrate that Anas al-Sharif was still an active combatant, then there is no justification for his killing,” Jodie Ginsberg, CPJ’s chief executive, told AFP.
AFP has contacted the Israeli military for comment.
Al Jazeera called the attack that killed Sharif “a desperate attempt to silence voices exposing the Israeli occupation”, as it described Sharif as “one of Gaza’s bravest journalists”.
It also said it followed “repeated incitement and calls by multiple Israeli officials and spokespersons to target the fearless journalist Anas Al Sharif and his colleagues”.
Reporters Without Borders says nearly 200 journalists have been killed in the war so far.
International reporters are prevented from travelling to Gaza by Israel, except on occasional tightly controlled trips with the military.
The strike on the journalists came with criticism mounting over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to expand the war in the Gaza Strip.
– ‘We will win’ –
The security cabinet voted last week to conquer the remaining quarter or so of the territory not yet controlled by Israeli troops, including much of Gaza City and Al-Mawasi, the area designated a safe zone by Israel where huge numbers of Palestinians have sought refuge.
The plan, which Israeli media reported had triggered bitter disagreement between the government and military leadership, drew condemnation from protesters in Israel and numerous countries, including Israeli allies.
Notably, the plans caused Germany, a major weapons supplier and staunch ally, to suspend shipments to Israel of any arms that could be used in Gaza.
Australia said it would join a growing list of Western nations in recognising a Palestinian state.
Despite the diplomatic reversals, Netanyahu remained defiant.
“We will win the war, with or without the support of others,” he told journalists on Sunday.
– ‘Another calamity’ –
The United Nations and humanitarian agencies have condemned the planned expansion.
“If these plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza,” UN Assistant Secretary General Miroslav Jenca told the Security Council on Sunday.
UN agencies warned last month that famine was unfolding in the territory, with Israel severely restricting the entry of aid.
Israel’s offensive has killed at least 61,430 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, figures the United Nations says are reliable.
Hamas’s October, 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the war, resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
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