Israel’s military said it carried out a Gaza airstrike on Sunday that killed an Al Jazeera journalist it alleged was a Hamas cell leader. Rights advocates, however, argued he was targeted for his frontline reporting on the Gaza war and said Israel’s accusation was unsubstantiated.
Anas Al Sharif, 28, was among a group of four Al Jazeera journalists and an assistant who died in a strike on a tent near Shifa Hospital in eastern Gaza City, Gaza officials and Al Jazeera said. An official at the hospital said two other people were also killed in the strike, News.az reports, citing Reuters.
Calling Al Sharif "one of Gaza's bravest journalists," Al Jazeera said the attack was a "desperate attempt to silence voices in anticipation of the occupation of Gaza."
Al Sharif was the head of a Hamas cell and "was responsible for advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF (Israeli) troops," the Israeli military said in a statement, citing intelligence and documents found in Gaza as evidence.
