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'Crime beyond imagination': Condemnations for killing Al Jazeera staff in Gaza pour in
The National Press Club has called for a thorough and transparent examination of the circumstances surrounding Al Jazeera journalist Anas Al Sharif's death
- PUBLISHED: Mon 11 Aug 2025, 4:29 PM
Condemnations for Israel's killing of Al Jazeera staff in Gaza on Sunday poured in after the airstrike that targeted their tent beside Al Shifa hospital, with Qatar, where the popular TV channel is based, calling the attack a "crime beyond imagination".
Israeli military acknowledged that it killed a famous Al Jazeera journalist it accused of being a Hamas cell leader in a Gaza airstrike y, but rights advocates said he had been targeted for his frontline reporting on the Gaza war, and Israel's claim lacked evidence.
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Anas Al-Sharif, 28, was one of the channel's most recognisable faces working on the ground in Gaza, providing daily reports in regular coverage.
He was killed alongside fellow correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa, Al Jazeera said.
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'Grave breach'
The UN human rights office condemned the killing of the Palestinian journalists, saying the actions by Israel's military represented a "grave breach of international humanitarian law."
The post on social media platform X was accompanied by a photograph of flattened blue tents next to a bullet-ridden wall in Gaza City.
#Gaza: We condemn the killing by Israeli military of 6 Palestinian journalists by targeting their tent, in grave breach of international humanitarian law. #Israel must respect & protect all civilians, including journalists. At least 242 Palestinian journalists were killed in Gaza⦠pic.twitter.com/Y6nTHcHQ2B
— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) August 11, 2025
'Crime beyond imagination'
Qatar's Prime Minister lambasted Israel for killing the journalists in the besieged Gaza Strip, describing the deaths as "crimes beyond imagination".
"The deliberate targeting of journalists by Israel in the Gaza Strip reveals how these crimes are beyond imagination... May God have mercy on journalists Anas Al-Sharif, Mohammed Qraiqea, and their colleagues," Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said in a post on X.
The deliberate targeting of journalists by Israel in the Gaza Strip reveals how these crimes are beyond imagination, amid the inability of the int'l community & its laws to stop this tragedy. May God have mercy on journalists Anas Al-Sharif, Mohammed Qraiqea, & their colleagues.
— Ù Ø٠د ب٠عبداÙرØÙ Ù (@MBA_AlThani_) August 11, 2025
'Baseless' allegation
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also condemned the "acknowledged murder by the Israeli army" of Al Jazeera correspondent Anas Al Sharif in Gaza, who the armed forces admitted they had targeted.
Where Israel accused Al Sharif of being a "terrorist" affiliated with Hamas, the press freedom campaign group said he was "one of the most famous journalists from the Gaza Strip (and) the voice of the suffering Israel has imposed on Palestinians in Gaza".
The NGO "strongly and angrily condemns the acknowledged murder by the Israeli army" of Al Sharif and other journalists, it added.
The Israeli military said that Al Sharif "posed as a journalist" but was in fact "the head of a terrorist cell... responsible for advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops."
RSF called the Israeli allegations "baseless".
"In (Sunday's) deliberate attack, the Israeli army reproduced a known method already tested, notably against Al Jazeera journalists," RSF said, pointing to the killings of two reporters on July 31 last year.
Israel labelled one of those men, Ismail al-Ghoul, a "terrorist".
RSF called on other countries to intervene, saying the UN Security Council should meet to insist on the protection of journalists in conflict zones.
"Without strong action from the international community to stop the Israeli army... we're likely to witness more such extrajudicial murders of media professionals," RWB said.
'Saddened, troubled'
The National Press Club said it is "saddened and troubled" by reports from Al Jazeera that its correspondent, Anas Al Sharif, was killed today in Gaza.
"The killing of a journalist while working to inform the public is a loss felt far beyond one newsroom," said National Press Club President Mike Balsamo. "Journalists must be able to work without being targeted or killed. All parties in conflict zones must honour their obligations under international law to protect reporters and ensure they can carry out their work safely."
The National Press Club has called for a thorough and transparent examination of the circumstances surrounding Al Sharif's death and reaffirmed its commitment to defending the safety and independence of journalists worldwide.
(With inputs from ANI, Reuters, AFP)
