Al Jazeera reporter Anas Al Sharif, father of two, brought the world to tears last month when he broke down on air while reporting on starvation in Gaza caused by Israel's blockade.
“Keep going Anas, you are our voice,” one bystander could be heard telling the journalist. Now the 'voice of Gaza' has been silenced forever.
The prominent correspondent was killed on Sunday night in an Israeli air strike attacking a tent housing the Al Jazeera crew near Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza city. The network's correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa were also killed in the attack, as well as a sixth journalist and another person.
In a statement, Al Jazeera condemned the killings as “yet another blatant and premeditated attack on press freedom”, calling Al Sharif, 28, “one of Gaza's bravest journalists”. The network said the attack was a “desperate attempt to silence voices in anticipation of the occupation of Gaza”.
Al Sharif’s fearless frontline coverage for Al Jazeera Arabic made him one of the most recognised and followed reporters in Gaza. He was described as the ‘voice of Gaza’ by the media network.
The journalist and videographer was born and raised in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, which had come under intense Israeli attacks since October 2023.
Al Sharif graduated from the media faculty at Al Aqsa University in Gaza city with a degree in mass communication, specialising in radio and television.
Throughout his career, he received the Best Young Journalist Award in Palestine in 2018 for his reporting on Gaza. Last year, he was awarded Amnesty International Australia’s Human Rights Defender Award to “honour his extraordinary resilience, bravery, and commitment to press freedom while working in the most dangerous conditions”.
Al Sharif leaves behind a wife and two children, whom he barely saw throughout his coverage during the war. His father was killed by an Israeli strike on their family home in Jabalia in December 2023.
Last month, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) raised concerns about Al Sharif’s safety.
“We are deeply alarmed by the repeated threats made by Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee against Al Jazeera’s Gaza correspondent Anas Al-Sharif and call on the international community to protect him,” said CPJ regional director Sara Qudah. “This is not the first time Al Sharif has been targeted by the Israeli military, but the danger to his life is now acute.”
In a statement admitting to the deliberate killing of the journalists, Israel’s military accused Al Sharif of being affiliated with Hamas. Israel had increased accusations and threats against him since the journalist cried on air while reporting on starvation in Gaza, said CPJ.
Al Jazeera, CPJ and rights groups have all dismissed Israel’s claims as unfounded.
Al Sharif's colleague, Mohammed Qreiqa, was also killed in Israel's Sunday strike. The pair had been working together since August last year, when Al Sharif welcomed Qreiqa to the Al Jazeera team in Gaza city in a post on X.
Qreiqa, 32, was from the Al Shujaia neighbourhood in eastern Gaza city. The news correspondent was the only son to his mother, who was killed in an Israeli attack in March last year. Israel also killed his brother, Karim, in March in an air attack on Gaza city.
He leaves behind a wife and two children. In early 2025, Al Sharif had filmed the reunion of Qraiqea with his kids after 15 months of separation due to Israel's war.
Al Jazeera cameraman Ibrahim Zaher, 25, was from Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.
Mohammed Noufal, 29, was also from Jabalia. He lost his mother and one brother in earlier Israeli attacks. His other brother, Ibrahim, also works as a cameraman for Al Jazeera.
The sixth journalist, Mohammad Al Khaldi, was described as a Youtube news content creator by Reporters Without Borders.
Media workers in Gaza have been working relentlessly under dire conditions. A statement by Amnesty International said journalists in Gaza “endure relentless bombardment, displacement, and the use of starvation as a weapon of war” to report from the war-torn strip, where international journalists are banned from entry.
Despite threats to his life, Al Sharif said he would continue to report from the north, which has been under Israeli siege for months.
Moments before his death, Al Sharif shared a video to X, where loud Israeli bombing can be heard in the background. “Non stop bombing … For the past two hours, Israeli aggression on Gaza city has intensified,” he wrote on the social media platform.
His death was confirmed in a statement posted to his social media platforms as his “will and final message” to the world.
“If you're reading these words, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice,” read Al Sharif's statement.
“I have lived through pain in all its details, tasted suffering and loss many times, yet I never once hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification, so Allah may bear witness against those who stayed silent, those who accepted our killing, those who choked our breath, and whose hearts were unmoved by the scattered remains of our children and women, doing nothing to stop the massacre that our people have faced for more than a year and a half,” he continued.
“I entrust you with Palestine … its people … its oppressed children … the apple of my eye, my daughter … my dear son … my beloved mother … my lifelong partner, my wife … I urge you to be their support … and don't forget about Gaza,” he wrote in the haunting message.
Al Jazeera said Al Sharif and his colleagues were among the “last remaining voices in Gaza conveying the tragic reality to the world”. On Monday, hundreds of mourners gathered to bid farewell to the reporters. Their bodies were taken from Al Shifa Hospital to their houses and then to Sheikh Radwan cemetery in Gaza city for their burial.
At least 186 journalists have been killed by Israel in Gaza, according to CPJ.
The Bloomberg Billionaire Index in full
1 Jeff Bezos $140 billion
2 Bill Gates $98.3 billion
3 Bernard Arnault $83.1 billion
4 Warren Buffett $83 billion
5 Amancio Ortega $67.9 billion
6 Mark Zuckerberg $67.3 billion
7 Larry Page $56.8 billion
8 Larry Ellison $56.1 billion
9 Sergey Brin $55.2 billion
10 Carlos Slim $55.2 billion
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Ukraine v Portugal, Monday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: BorrowMe (BorrowMe.com)
Date started: August 2021
Founder: Nour Sabri
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce / Marketplace
Size: Two employees
Funding stage: Seed investment
Initial investment: $200,000
Investors: Amr Manaa (director, PwC Middle East)
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
More on Quran memorisation:
Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net
Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.
Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.
A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.
Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.
GULF MEN'S LEAGUE
Pool A Dubai Hurricanes, Bahrain, Dubai Exiles, Dubai Tigers 2
Pool B Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Jebel Ali Dragons, Dubai Knights Eagles, Dubai Tigers
Opening fixtures
Thursday, December 5
6.40pm, Pitch 8, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Dubai Knights Eagles
7pm, Pitch 2, Jebel Ali Dragons v Dubai Tigers
7pm, Pitch 4, Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Exiles
7pm, Pitch 5, Bahrain v Dubai Eagles 2
Recent winners
2018 Dubai Hurricanes
2017 Dubai Exiles
2016 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
2015 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
2014 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
