The Associated Press reported on Monday that Israel deliberately targeted and killed a journalist in Gaza on Sunday. But, as usual, there is more to the story.
The report details an Israeli airstrike that killed Al Jazeera correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohamed Qreiqeh, along with four other journalists sheltering outside Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claimed responsibility for the attack and alleged that al-Sharif led a Hamas cell. Al Jazeera referred to the attack as a “targeted assassination” and claimed it was part of an Israeli “smear campaign” that escalated after al-Sharif cried during a broadcast discussing the starvation crisis occurring in Gaza.
Predictably, the anti-Israel United Nations condemned the strike as a “grave breach of international humanitarian laws.”
The media: “Israel kills journalists.”
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) August 10, 2025
The journalists: pic.twitter.com/BdLWoFhlYU
UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan said the strikes were “part of a deliberate strategy of Israel to suppress the truth, obstruct documentation of international crimes and bury any possibility of future accountability.”
Shame on Israel killing these innocent journalists 😢 pic.twitter.com/Cq9mSVYdfa
— Nazi Hunters (@HuntersOfNazis) August 11, 2025
Al-Sharif, 28, had been reporting on the war since it started after Hamas slaughtered over 1,000 Israelis on October 7, 2023, during a surprise attack. There have been about 186 journalists killed in Gaza, according to press freedom advocates.
In a final message intended to be released after his death, al-Sharif declared that “Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice” and said he always sought “to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification.”
This is my will and my final message. If these words reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice. First, peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings.
— أنس الشريف Anas Al-Sharif (@AnasAlSharif0) August 10, 2025
Allah knows I gave every effort and all my strength to be a support and a voice for my…
However, the Associated Press didn’t bother to discuss why Israel believed al-Sharif was a member of Hamas. The IDF accused him of being “the head of a terrorist cell in the Hamas terrorist organisation,” according to The Week. He was believed to be part of the terrorist group’s elite Nukhba Force.
Documents recovered in Gaza, such as “personnel rosters, training records, phone directories and salary details,” exposed his affiliation with Hamas. The documents show he played a critical role in planning rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers.
If al-Sharif were pretending to be a journalist, he wouldn’t be the first. There have been several instances in which terrorist pose as journalists to protect themselves and disguise their actual activities. Unfortunately, the press doesn’t seem interested in exploring this because the optics of Israel killing journalists fits their agenda.
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