Five Al Jazeera journalists were killed in an Israeli airstrike outside al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Sunday. The attack occurred hours after Palestine's UN ambassador challenged the international community to send 100 journalists to Gaza to witness the situation firsthand.
The deadly strike targeted a tent where the journalists were staying, killing correspondent Anas al-Sharif among others. Al-Sharif was 28 years old and had been reporting from Gaza throughout the conflict.
Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour had addressed an emergency Security Council meeting earlier that day about Israel's plans for Gaza City. He told the council they should send 100 journalists from their countries to the besieged enclave.
"If Netanyahu is so sure of this global conspiracy about a 'lie', let him prove it," Mansour said during the session.
Attack details emerge
Two civilians were also killed and eight people wounded in the attack beyond the five journalists. The strike came as international media access to Gaza remains severely restricted throughout the conflict.
Al-Sharif's final social media post showed footage of Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City. The correspondent had been documenting the ongoing bombardment of the Palestinian territory.
Controversial allegations surface
The Israeli Defence Forces claimed al-Sharif was a Hamas operative in the "Nukhba Force" in East Jabalia Battalion, according to The i. The IDF cited "documents" from Hamas training to support their allegations against the journalist.
This follows a similar pattern to another Al Jazeera journalist, Ismail al-Ghoul, who was killed in August 2023 with comparable Hamas allegations made posthumously, The i reports. The timing of the killings hours after the ambassador's call for international media access has drawn attention to the deadly risks facing journalists covering the conflict.
Sources used: "The Independent", "The i" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
