Israeli Strike on Gaza kills 5 Al Jazeera journalists, IDF makes sensational claims, says one was a Hamas Operative, UN officials to…

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) requested the international community in July to take measures to ensure his safety.

New Delhi: In a major development, five Al Jazeera journalists were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City on Sunday. The Israeli military has alleged that one of them, Anas Al-Sharif, headed a Hamas cell. The Qatari network condemned the attack, denying the claims and calling it a direct assault on press freedom. Palestinian journalists’ groups and UN officials have also criticised the strike, citing earlier warnings over Al-Sharif’s safety.

The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) claimed that Anas Al-Sharif was the leader of a Hamas terrorist cell. According to its statement released by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), Al-Sharif was responsible for advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and troops. The military framed his killing as a targeted counterterrorism operation rather than an attack on media personnel.

Al Jazeera has vociferously rejected the allegations and called them unfounded, aimed at justifying the killing of a journalist who had reported from Gaza throughout the conflict. The network confirmed the deaths of Anas Al-Sharif, Mohammad Qraiqea, Ibrahim Zaher, Moamen Aliwa and Mohammed Noufal in the same strike.

Here are some of the key details:

• UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression Irene Khan warned that Al-Sharif’s life was at risk.
• She said that Israel’s accusations against him lacked substantiated evidence and risked being used to legitimise lethal targeting.
• The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) requested the international community in July to take measures to ensure his safety.
• Palestinian journalists’ associations called the killings an extension of what they describe as a pattern of deliberate targeting of reporters in Gaza.
• They say such incidents severely curtail the ability of the media to document conditions inside the enclave and erode the principle of press neutrality in conflict zones.
• The Israeli military, however, maintains that militant operatives often embed themselves in civilian areas and media roles as a cover for operational activities.