Al Jazeera condemns 'assassination' of its journalists in Gaza
Five Al Jazeera employees have been killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza - including a journalist who feared he was going to be assassinated.
Anas al Sharif died alongside four of his colleagues from the network: Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) had recently expressed "grave" concerns about al Sharif's safety, and claimed he was "being targeted by an Israeli military smear campaign".
Israel Defence Forces confirmed the strike - and alleged al Sharif was a "terrorist" who "served as the head of a terrorist cell in the Hamas terrorist organisation".
It claimed he was "responsible for advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops".
In a statement, Al Jazeera called it a "targeted assassination" - and "yet another blatant and premeditated attack on press freedom".
Last month, al Sharif said he lived with "the feeling that I could be bombed and martyred at any moment" because his coverage of Israel's operations "harms them and damages their image in the world".
As of 5 August, at least 186 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza - but foreign reporters have been barred from covering the war independently since the latest conflict began in 2023.
The Hamas-run government has described Israel's killing of these five Al Jazeera journalists as "brutal and heinous".
A statement added: "The assassination was premeditated and deliberate, following a deliberate, direct targeting of the journalists' tent near al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
"The targeting of journalists and media institutions by Israeli aircraft is a full-fledged war crime aimed at silencing the truth and obliterating the traces of genocidal crimes."
Following Anas al Sharif's death, a post described as his "last will and testament" was posted on X.
It read: "If these words of mine reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice."
The 28-year-old added that he laments being able to fulfil his dream of seeing his son and daughter grow up - and alleged he had witnessed children "crushed by thousands of tonnes of Israeli bombs and missiles".
"Do not forget Gaza ... and do not forget me in your prayers for forgiveness and acceptance," he wrote.
The CPJ reported that his father was killed by an Israeli airstrike on their family home in December 2023 after the journalist received telephone threats from Israeli army officers instructing him to cease coverage.
Israel shut down the Al Jazeera television network in the country in May last year.
-SKY NEWS
