PHOTO: Funerals Held for Al Jazeera Journalists Assassinated by Israel in Gaza

Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif, 28, has been killed along with four of his colleagues in what the network has called a deliberate Israeli attack on a media tent outside the main gate of Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital.

The tent, which sheltered journalists covering the war, was struck by an Israeli drone at about 11:35pm (20:35 GMT) on Sunday, according to Al Jazeera reporter Hani al-Shaer.

In total, seven people died in the strike. Among the victims were Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh, 33; camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, 25; Mohammed Noufal, 29; and Moamen Aliwa, 23.

A Pattern of Targeting Al Jazeera Journalists

This is not the first time Israel has targeted Al Jazeera staff in Gaza.

Since December 2023, at least five other journalists from the network have been killed:

• Samer Abudaqa, cameraman, killed in an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis on December 14, 2023. He bled to death after emergency workers were blocked from reaching him.

• Hamza Dahdouh, journalist and son of bureau chief Wael Dahdouh, killed in a January 7, 2024 missile strike in Khan Younis.

• Ismail al-Ghoul and cameraman Rami al-Rifi, killed on July 31, 2024 in a strike on Shati refugee camp despite clear press markings.

• Ahmed al-Louh, video journalist, killed on December 15, 2024 in Nuseirat camp.

• Hossam Shabat, 23, killed in Beit Lahiya on March 24, 2025.

Gaza: The Deadliest War for Journalists

Israel’s war on Gaza has become the deadliest conflict for journalists in modern history.

According to the Brown University Costs of War project, more journalists have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023, than in the US Civil War, both World Wars, the Korean and Vietnam wars, the Yugoslav conflicts, and the post-9/11 Afghanistan war combined.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) recorded 2024 as the deadliest year for journalists, with more than 120 killed.

Since January 2025, over 50 journalists and media workers have died in Gaza, bringing the total to nearly 270 over the past 22 months  an average of 13 per month.

Condemnation and Calls for Justice

Al Jazeera condemned the killings as “another blatant and premeditated attack on press freedom”, noting that al-Sharif and his colleagues were among the last voices reporting from inside Gaza as foreign journalists remain barred by Israel.

The Palestinian mission to the UN accused Israel of “deliberately assassinating” the journalists for documenting alleged war crimes.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s spokesperson called for an investigation, while Amnesty International labelled the killings a war crime and honoured al-Sharif as a “brave and extraordinary” reporter who won the 2024 Human Rights Defender Award.

Press freedom groups including RSF and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) warned that targeting reporters is silencing independent coverage from Gaza, leaving potential war crimes undocumented.

In a June open letter, RSF, CPJ and several news organisations stressed that many Palestinian journalists who supply critical reporting to the outside world face constant threats to their lives simply for doing their jobs.

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