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Anas Al-Sharif

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Anas Al-Sharif
أنس الشريف
Born
Anas Jamal Mahmoud Al-Sharif

(1996-12-03)3 December 1996
Jabalia refugee camp, Gaza Strip, Palestine
Died10 August 2025(2025-08-10) (aged 28)
Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Palestine
Cause of deathTargeted Israeli airstrike
Occupations
EmployerAl Jazeera Arabic
Known forReporting from northern Gaza during the Gaza war; killed while working
AwardsPulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography

Anas Jamal Mahmoud Al-Sharif (Arabic: أنس جمال محمود الشريف; 3 December 1996 – 10 August 2025) was a Palestinian journalist and videographer for Al Jazeera Arabic, widely recognized for his frontline reporting from northern Gaza during the Gaza war. In 2024, Al-Sharif's Reuters team was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography for their "raw and urgent" photos documenting the Gaza war.

Al-Sharif was killed along with four other journalists and two civilians in an Israeli airstrike targeting him and other journalists in a tent outside the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on 10 August 2025. At the time of his death, 234 journalists had been killed during the Gaza war.[1] Prior to his killing, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) accused Al-Sharif of being a Hamas operative. Human rights organizations and Al Jazeera said this was an excuse to justify the killing of journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on the international community to protect him.

Early life and family

Al-Sharif was born in the Jabalia refugee camp, Gaza Strip, in 1996, to a family of refugees who were displaced in 1948 from the city of Al-Majdal (today the Israeli city of Ashkelon).[2][3] As a child, he wanted to be a journalist.[4] He graduated from Al-Aqsa University with a bachelor's degree in mass communication, specializing in radio and television.[5][6] He began his career volunteering at the Al-Shamal Media Network and, according to CNN and the BBC, started working for a Hamas media team before the Gaza war, though he later criticized the organization.[7][8] He thereafter joined Al Jazeera Arabic as a northern Gaza correspondent.[4] Al-Sharif was married and had two children.[4][8]

Gaza war

Further information: Gaza war

Al-Sharif became one of the most visible faces reporting on the Gaza war, refusing to evacuate the north despite repeated Israeli orders and direct threats to his life.[6][9][10] He continued daily coverage through airstrikes, massacres, and displacement, often working under extreme danger and chronic shortages of basic supplies. His reporting provided crucial footage and testimony from one of the most inaccessible war zones globally.[11][9][6]

Al-Sharif received phone calls from the Israeli military telling him to leave northern Gaza in November 2023.[9][12] The following month, his father was killed in an Israeli airstrike on their family home in Jabalia in December 2023. Due to poor health, his father had been unable to evacuate their home with the rest of their family.[13] Al-Sharif described the experience as both "cruel" and "painful", yet said it strengthened his resolve to continue telling the stories of Gaza's suffering.[11][9]

In 2024, Al-Sharif's Reuters team was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography[14] for their "raw and urgent" photos documenting the Gaza war.[4][15]

While reporting live on the January 2025 Gaza war ceasefire, Al-Sharif removed his protective gear.[16] Cheering bystanders raised him on their shoulders in celebration.[17] Video of the event went viral on social media.[4]

Hossam Shabat, Al-Sharif's colleague, was killed in a targeted Israeli airstrike in March 2025. Al-Sharif participated in the funeral procession. He told Drop Site News that he was determined to continue reporting despite Israeli threats and the loss of his father.[12]

Gaza photos by Al-Sharif and Saleh Najm (October 2023)

Assassination

Main article: Assassination of Anas Al-Sharif

From 2023, Al-Sharif faced mounting threats from the IDF, including phone calls, voice messages, and social media campaigns,[18] which claimed that he was a Hamas operative.[9][19] The IDF's Arabic spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, accused Al-Sharif and other journalists of terrorism,[20] with the IDF alleging that Al-Sharif was a Hamas operative in charge of rocket launching.[21] Various human rights organizations and Al Jazeera described the claims as baseless attacks aimed at justifying the killing of journalists and suppression of unfavorable reporting towards Israel.[9][10][22][20] The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called the attacks against Al-Sharif a "precursor to assassination" and urged international action to protect him and other journalists in Gaza, highlighting the deliberate risk faced by local reporters as the "last eyes and ears of the outside world" on the conflict.[9][20][23][22] In July 2025, Al-Sharif told the CPJ that he lived with the "feeling that I could be bombed and martyred at any moment".[24]

On 31 July 2025, UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan condemned repeated threats and smear campaigns by the Israeli army against Al-Sharif, calling them dangerous attempts to silence his reporting on the war in Gaza. She highlighted how Al-Sharif, described as "the last surviving journalist of Al Jazeera in northern Gaza", had been accused without evidence of being a "Hamas terrorist", placing his life at serious risk. Khan stressed that, while Israel bars international reporters from entering Gaza, it simultaneously targets and undermines local journalists, who serve as the world's "eyes" on atrocities.[25][26]

On 10 August 2025, Al-Sharif was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a tent outside Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.[1][27] His colleagues Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa along with two others were also killed in the bombing.[1] The Israeli military confirmed they had targeted Al-Sharif, reiterating their claim that he was a Hamas fighter.[28] According to BBC News, the Israeli military has not provided sufficient evidence for their accusation.[8] Al-Jazeera condemned the killing as a "premeditated assassination" intended to "silence voices in anticipation of the occupation of Gaza",[28] referencing Israel's recently announced plan to occupy the Strip.[29] At the time of his death, Israel had killed at least 234 journalists during the Gaza war,[1] including 10 Al-Jazeera journalists.[30]

In a message posthumously posted to his Twitter account, Al-Sharif wrote: "If these words reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice." He also stated: "Do not forget Gaza… And do not forget me in your sincere prayers."[31][32]

Reactions

Palestine

Hamas said it was "a barbaric crime that surpasses all limits of fascism and criminality." Adding in a statement: "The martyr Anas al-Sharif was a model of the free journalist, documenting the crime of starvation and showing the world the scenes of famine imposed by the occupation on our people in Gaza,"[33] Palestinian Islamic Jihad condemned Al-Sharif’s assassination as a “heinous war crime committed by the usurping entity in full view of the entire world,” and warned that Israel is paving the way for the next phase of its assault by “targeting journalists who expose its crimes and massacres to the world.”[33] The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine stated that the killing of the journalists serves as "a dangerous indicator of the occupation's intent to commit the most heinous atrocities in Gaza."[33]

Media and press freedom organizations

Al Jazeera Media Network condemned the strike as a "premeditated assassination" and "yet another blatant and premeditated attack on press freedom", noting that Al-Sharif and his colleagues were among the few journalists still reporting from Gaza. The Qatari network accused Israel of attempting to suppress coverage of its military actions.[34] The Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate described it as a "bloody crime",[35] and Hamas suggested it signaled an impending Israeli invasion of Gaza City.[36] Press freedom organizations, including the CPJ, RSF, and the International Federation of Journalists reiterated that journalists are civilians under international law and must not be targeted. Sara Qudah of the CPJ stated "Israel's pattern of labeling journalists as militants without providing credible evidence raises serious questions about its intent and respect for press freedom.[35][37][38] Al Jazeera managing editor Mohamed Mawad said that Al-Sharif's killing followed a pattern of "degrading, delegitimizing, smearing, and then killing" other Palestinian journalists.[39] The National Press Club president Mike Balsamo stated that "Journalists must be able to work without being targeted or killed," and that all parties have to abide by international law.[33]

Political and diplomatic responses

A spokesperson for Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Keir Starmer said that the government was "gravely concerned by the repeated targeting of journalists in Gaza."[40] The United Nations' human rights office described the attack as violating international law.[41]

Hind Rajab Foundation

On 12 August 2025, the Hind Rajab Foundation, in collaboration with the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, filed a complaint to the International Criminal Court in the Hague against a group of IDF soldiers thought to be connected to the airstrike. The complaint accuses them of war crimes and genocide "as part of the broader campaign to destroy the Palestinian people and erase those documenting their suffering".[42][43][44]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif killed in Israeli attack in Gaza City". Al Jazeera. 10 August 2025. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  2. ^ "Further | Until Our Last Breath | Opinion".
  3. ^ "Anas al-Sharif, reporter tué délibérément par l'armée israélienne à Gaza: «J'ai vécu la peine dans tous ses détails» - le Temps".
  4. ^ a b c d e "Who was Anas al-Sharif, the Al Jazeera journalist killed by Israel in Gaza City?". New Arab. 11 August 2025.
  5. ^ "All 4 Palestine | Anas Al-Sharif". All 4 Palestine. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  6. ^ a b c "Anas Al-Sharif – This Week in Palestine". This Week in Palestine. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  7. ^ "Anas Al-Sharif became the face of the war in Gaza for millions. Then Israel killed him". www.cnn.com. 12 August 2025. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  8. ^ a b c "Anas al-Sharif: Who was the Al Jazeera journalist killed by Israel in Gaza?". www.bbc.com. 11 August 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g "CPJ calls for Anas Al-Sharif's protection in face of Israeli smears". Committee to Protect Journalists. 24 July 2025. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Gaza: UN expert denounces serious threats by Israeli army against Al Jazeera correspondent". The Question of Palestine. United Nations. 31 July 2025. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  11. ^ a b Kouddous, Sharif Abdel (11 September 2024). ""Until our last breath": Journalist Anas al-Sharif on Documenting Israel's Genocide in Gaza Every Day for 11 Straight Months". Drop Site News. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  12. ^ a b Kouddous, Sharif Abdel. "Marked for Assassination: Gaza Journalists on Israeli Hit List Refuse to Stop Reporting". www.dropsitenews.com. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  13. ^ "Father of Al Jazeera journalist killed in Israeli air strike on Gaza". Al Jazeera. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  14. ^ Al-Mughrabi, Nidal; Lubell, Maayan; Al-Mughrabi, Nidal (11 August 2025). "Israel strike kills Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza". Reuters. Archived from the original on 11 August 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  15. ^ "Reuters awarded Pulitzer Prizes for photo coverage of Israel-Gaza war, investigations of Elon Musk's businesses". Reuters. 6 May 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  16. ^ "Al Jazeera reporter in Gaza removes protective gear". Al Jazeera. 16 January 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  17. ^ Golding, Yona TR (15 January 2025). "The Ceasefire's Local News". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  18. ^ "Father of Al-Jazeera's Anas Al-Sharif killed in Gaza after journalist receives threats". Committee to Protect Journalists. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  19. ^ "Gaza: RSF is alarmed by the Israeli army's serious accusations against six Al-Jazeera journalists and calls for their protection". RSF. 7 October 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  20. ^ a b c "'Precursor to assassination': Gaza reporter Anas Al-Sharif on Israeli threats; CPJ sounds alarm over journalist safety". Hindustan Times. 26 July 2025. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  21. ^ Fabian, Emanuel; Yohanan, Nurit; Magid, Jacob; Fabian, Emanuel (11 August 2025). "IDF strike on Gaza City kills Al Jazeera reporter accused of being a Hamas cell leader". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  22. ^ a b "Al Jazeera condemns Israeli incitement against Gaza reporter Anas al-Sharif". Al Jazeera. 25 July 2025. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  23. ^ "Anas Al-Sharif Archives – Committee to Protect Journalists". CPJ. 24 July 2025. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  24. ^ Tondo, Lorenzo (11 August 2025). "Global outrage mounts as funeral held for five journalists killed by Israel". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  25. ^ Taheri, Mandy (10 August 2025). "Al Jazeera Confirms Journalist Anas al-Sharif Killed in Israeli Strike". Newsweek.
  26. ^ "Gaza: UN expert denounces serious threats by Israeli army against Al Jazeera correspondent". Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. United Nations. 31 July 2025.
  27. ^ "VIDEO – 'Israel' kills prominent Gaza journalists including Anas Sharif". Roya News. 10 August 2025. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  28. ^ a b "Israeli Strike Kills 4 Al Jazeera Journalists, Network Says". New York Times. 11 August 2025. Archived from the original on 11 August 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  29. ^ Campbell, Lucy; Ambrose, Tom; Sedghi, Amy; Graham, Vicky; Fulton, Adam (9 August 2025). "UN chief calls Israel's Gaza City plan 'dangerous escalation' as security council to meet on Saturday – as it happened". the Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  30. ^ "Israel kills five Al Jazeera journalists in 'targeted' Gaza strike". The Independent. 11 August 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  31. ^ Sabbah, Abdel Qader (11 August 2025). "The Israeli Assassination of Journalist Anas al-Sharif and Five Colleagues in Gaza City". www.dropsitenews.com.
  32. ^ "La carta de despedida del periodista Anas Al Sharif, asesinado en Gaza: 'Sepan que Israel ha logrado matarme'". ElHuffPost (in Spanish). 11 August 2025.
  33. ^ a b c d Hasson, Nir; Zbeedat, Nagham; Samuels, Ben (11 August 2025). "Israeli Army Targets and Kills Al Jazeera Journalist Anas Al-Sharif Outside Gaza City Hospital". Harretz. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  34. ^ "Al Jazeera condemns the assassination of its journalists by Israeli occupation forces". Al Jazeera Media Network. 11 August 2025.
  35. ^ a b Connor, Richard (11 August 2025). "Israel kills Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif in Gaza – DW – 08/11/2025". dw.com.
  36. ^ Trew, Bel; Singh, Namita (11 August 2025). "Israel kills five Al Jazeera journalists in 'targeted' Gaza strike". The Independent.
  37. ^ SAM METZ; SAMY MAGDY- (11 August 2025). "Israel targets and kills Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif as toll worsens on Gaza journalists". Channel 3000. Associated Press. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  38. ^ "Israel Assassinates Anas Al-Sharif, Other Journalists". IMEMC. 11 August 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  39. ^ ""Silencing the Coverage": Israel Assassinates 5 Al Jazeera Journalists in Targeted Strike in Gaza". Democracy Now!. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  40. ^ "UK's Starmer 'gravely concerned' about targeting of journalists in Gaza". Reuters. 11 August 2025. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  41. ^ "UN condemns targeted Israeli attack that killed five Al Jazeera journalists". BBC News. 11 August 2025. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  42. ^ Eichner, Itamar (12 August 2025). "Group pursuing IDF soldiers seeks ICC arrest warrants against chief of staff, officers". Ynetnews.
  43. ^ "HRF files complaint with ICC against IDF chief | The Jerusalem Post". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 12 August 2025. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  44. ^ "The Hunt for Anas Al-Sharif's Killers: HRF and PCHR Bring Israel's War on Journalists to the ICC". THE HIND RAJAB FOUNDATION. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
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