Israel’s military targeted an Al Jazeera correspondent with an airstrike Sunday, killing him, another network journalist and other people, all of whom were sheltering outside the Gaza City Hospital complex.
Israel’s military targeted an Al Jazeera correspondent with an airstrike Sunday, killing him, another network journalist and other people, all of whom were sheltering outside the Gaza City Hospital complex.
Officials at Shifa Hospital said those killed included Al Jazeera correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohamed Qureiqa. The strike also killed four other journalists and two other people, hospital administrative director Rami Mohanna told The Associated Press. The strike also damaged the entrance to the hospital complex’s emergency building.
Both Israel and hospital officials in Gaza City confirmed the deaths, which press advocates described as retribution against those documenting the war in Gaza. Israel’s military later Sunday described al-Sharif as the leader ofan allegation that Al Jazeera and al-Sharif had previously dismissed as baseless.
The incident marked the first time during the war that Israel’s military has swiftly claimed responsibility after a journalist was killed in a strike.
It came less than a year after Israeli army officials first accused al-Sharif and other Al Jazeera journalists of being members of the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad. In a July 24 video, Israel’s army spokesperson Avichay Adraee attacked Al Jazeera and accused al-Sharif of being part of Hamas’ military wing.
Al Jazeera called the strike « targeted assassination » and accused Israeli officials of incitement, connecting al-Sharif’s death to the allegations that both the network and correspondent had denied.
