Doha – Qatar’s Prime Minister has condemned Israel for the killings of Al Jazeera journalists in the Gaza Strip, labeling the attacks as “crimes beyond imagination,” reports 24brussels.
On Sunday night, Anas al-Sharif, a leading Al Jazeera journalist who had previously faced intimidation from Israeli forces, was killed along with four colleagues in an Israeli airstrike. The incident occurred outside al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, where the journalists were covering developments in the ongoing conflict.
“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 stated in a post on X. The attack resulted in at least seven fatalities, including Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh, and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa.
How does Israel justify targeting prominent Al Jazeera reporters?
The Israel Defense Force (IDF) acknowledged its involvement in the strike, asserting that al-Sharif was linked to Hamas, claiming he
“served as the head of a terrorist cell in the Hamas organization and was responsible for promoting rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF forces.”
Israel’s military previously identified al-Sharif as one of six journalists in Gaza allegedly involved with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, substantiating its claims with documents asserting they had undergone military training and received salaries.
Are journalists in Gaza increasingly becoming IDF targets?
Amid the ongoing violence, Israeli military actions have led to the deaths of numerous journalists. A report from April 2024 indicated that the current Gaza-Israel conflict has resulted in over 230 journalist fatalities, marking it as the deadliest conflict for media professionals in history. Notably, Al Jazeera journalist Hamza Dahdouh lost his life when a missile struck his vehicle in southern Gaza in January 2024.
Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist renowned for her two-and-a-half decades at Al Jazeera, was killed on May 11, 2022, while reporting on an IDF operation in the Jenin refugee camp within the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Reports indicate that multiple journalists affiliated with Al Jazeera have fallen victim to Israeli military operations over time.
