Palestinian journalists in Gaza were defiant after Israel killed six of their colleagues in a strike condemned around the world.
The Israeli army admitted it deliberately killed Anas Al Sharif, 28, in an air strike in Gaza city. His Al Jazeera colleagues Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Moamen Aliwa and Mohammed Noufal were also killed.
In a poignant message prepared by Mr Al Sharif in the event of his death, he said he had "never hesitated to convey the truth as it is", despite having "tasted grief and loss repeatedly". Israel claimed Mr Al Sharif had been a Hamas operative who "served as the head of a terrorist cell" while posing as a journalist, which Al Jazeera denied.
Speaking to The National, a number of Palestinian journalists vowed not to give in to what they saw as another Israeli attempt to silence them. “The message will not stop,” Waleed Abdul Rahman, a journalist with Palestine TV, told The National.
The deaths bring the number of journalists killed by Israel since the war began in October 2023, following the Hamas-led attack, to more than 180, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.
Qatar, which hosts Al Jazeera, condemned the killings on Monday. "The deliberate targeting of journalists by Israel in the Gaza Strip reveals how these crimes are beyond imagination, amid the inability of the international community and its laws to stop this tragedy," Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said.
Reuters reported that a sixth journalist, Mohammad Al Khaldi, was also killed in the strike, citing hospital staff. Another person yet to be identified was among the dead.
Funerals were held on Monday, with the bodies taken from Al Shifa Hospital to the victims' respective houses then on to Sheikh Radwan Cemetery in Gaza city for burial. The deaths bring the number of journalists killed by Israel during the war in Gaza to more than 180, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.
Al Jazeera staff held televised memorial at the news network's Doha headquarters.
Mr Abdul Rahman noted the timing of the attack coincided with an imminent ground occupation of Gaza city. “It confirms the occupation’s premeditated intention to commit crimes and its fear of being exposed by journalists,” he explained.
Journalist Wadie Abu Al Soud described the victims as “an imprint of the Palestinian narrative that travelled across the world without compromise”, covering a war that has shifted from fighting Hamas to starving an entire population and preparing to take over their land.
Palestinian narrative
Momen Qreiqa, another journalist in Gaza, compared the killings to political intimidation elsewhere in the world: “This assassination is no different from threatening to prosecute newspapers simply for publishing the occupation’s crimes and the famine in Gaza. It is about silencing truth-tellers.”
Journalist groups in Gaza have been urging the International Federation of Journalists, the Arab Journalists Union and other press bodies to take immediate action.
For those who knew Anas, Mohammed and their fallen colleagues, the grief is deep, but so is their determination.
“The occupation wants to silence the message. But nothing will stop the message. The Palestinian narrative will continue to reach the world,” stressed Mr Abdul Rahman.
Islam El Zaanoun of Palestine TV echoed the sentiment, saying the deadly strike was “a painful but unsurprising tragedy”.
“We know that a press vest cannot protect us from Israeli missiles,” she told The National. "We are part of the siege and the killing. Foreign journalists must be brought in to help Palestinian journalists continue this coverage."
The UN's human rights office also condemned the killings, calling for "immediate, safe and unhindered access to Gaza for all journalists", which Israel has refused to grant.
The head of the UN's cultural agency Unesco called for an investigation. Audrey Azoulay said "targeting journalists covering conflicts is unacceptable and against international humanitarian law".
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday said he was "gravely concerned" about journalists being targeted repeatedly in Gaza, his spokesman said in London. War reporters "must be able to report independently, without fear and Israel must ensure journalists can carry out their work safely", Mr Starmer's spokesman said.
