Marked for death

In one night, Israel murdered Al Jazeera’s entire media crew in Gaza City. The Israeli military admitted to assassinating the journalists in an August 10 airstrike on a media tent outside Al-Shifa hospital. The strike killed Al Jazeera Arabic correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher and Mohammed Noufal.

Freelance cameraman Moamen Aliwa and reporter Mohammad al-Khaldi were also killed.

At just 28, Anas al-Sharif was a renowned journalist, husband, and father of two young children. He and his colleagues lived through constant Israeli bombardment while reporting on every aspect of the escalating genocide in Gaza, including the mass killing and maiming of Palestinians, widespread destruction of life-sustaining infrastructure like medical facilities, and forced starvation.

Like other Palestinian journalists, Israeli forces threatened al-Sharif’s life repeatedly, falsely accusing him of “heading a Hamas militant cell.” Yet he persisted in his fearless coverage.

He also suffered profound loss. In December 2023, an Israeli airstrike targeted his family’s home in the Jabalia refugee camp, killing his 90-year-old father. Weeks before, Israeli military officials had demanded that al-Sharif stop reporting from northern Gaza. But he refused.

The UN and human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and the Committee to Protect Journalists, have all condemned the deliberate killings of al-Sharif and his colleagues.

Sadly, this isn’t the first time Israel has smeared Palestinian journalists as “militants” or “terrorists” without evidence and then killed them. Among others, Israel assassinated Al Jazeera Mubasher correspondent Hossam Shabat on March 24 in a strike on his car. On July 31, 2024, Israeli forces also murdered Al Jazeera’s Ismail al-Ghoul and his cameraman Rami al-Rifi in a drone strike on their car. Meanwhile, the Israeli government has denied international journalists access to Gaza. Its murders of Palestinian media workers fit a pattern of trying to eliminate witnesses to its heinous human rights violations.

Nearly 270 journalists and media workers, the vast majority of them Palestinians, have been killed by Israel since October 7, 2023. They are not “collateral damage” – they’re being hunted.

According to Brown University’s Watson Institute, more journalists have been killed in Gaza over the past two years than in the US Civil War, World Wars I and II, and the wars in Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, and Ukraine combined.

The deliberate targeting and killing of journalists are blatant war crimes. Like all civilians, they must be protected. Journalists play an integral role in covering potential violations of international humanitarian law like we’ve seen in Gaza.

Alongside its devastating bombardments, Israel’s unlawful use of starvation as warfare and restrictions on humanitarian aid are destroying the existence of Palestinian life in Gaza. At least 61,000 Palestinians have been confirmed killed, but the true number is estimated in the hundreds of thousands.

The US continues to be an active participant in the ongoing genocide by providing Israel with military, economic, and diplomatic support. This must end. Israel’s nearly 18-year illegal siege on Gaza must be lifted immediately. All humanitarian aid must be allowed in, overseen by the UN and its partners, not the US-Israeli death traps where soldiers shoot starving people at so-called “aid distribution sites.”

Despite Israel’s efforts to silence witnesses, Gaza’s brave journalists are still reaching the world. People continue to demand that their governments stop enabling the mass slaughter and starvation of Palestinians – including in the US, where a bipartisan majority of Americans oppose Israel’s actions. Communities are also mobilizing for justice and accountability for all the slain journalists.

Excerpted: ‘In All of History, Gaza Is the Most Dangerous Place Ever for Journalists’.

Courtesy: Commondreams.org