TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Residents of Gaza gathered on Monday, August 11, 2025, to attend the funeral of five Al Jazeera journalists and a sixth reporter who were killed in an Israeli attack. Israel claimed that one of them was a "terrorist" affiliated with Hamas, a justification widely seen as a pretext for targeting journalists, which constitutes a war crime.
As reported by Arab News, dozens of people stood amid the bombed-out buildings in the courtyard of Al-Shifa Hospital to pay their final respects to Anas Al-Sharif, a prominent 28-year-old Al Jazeera correspondent, and his four colleagues, who were killed on Sunday night.
A sixth journalist, Mohammed Al-Khaldi, a freelance reporter, also died in the same attack targeting the Al Jazeera team, according to Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Hospital.
Their bodies, wrapped in white shrouds with their faces exposed, were carried through narrow alleys to their graves by mourners, including men wearing blue bulletproof vests marked for journalists.
Israel confirmed it had targeted Al-Sharif, referring to him as a "terrorist" affiliated with Hamas and alleging that he was "posing as a journalist." Al Jazeera stated that its staff were attacked while inside a tent set up for journalists just outside the main gate of a hospital in Gaza City.
The four other Al Jazeera staff members killed were correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa.
Al-Sharif was one of the most recognized faces on the network, reporting daily from the field in Gaza throughout the 22-month-long war.
A posthumous message, written in April in case of his death, was published on his account Monday morning. In it, he said he had been silenced and urged the world to "not forget Gaza."
A local journalist who knew him said Al-Sharif began his career working in the Hamas media office, where he helped promote events organized by the Palestinian militant group that has controlled Gaza since 2006.
Massacre of Journalists in Gaza
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Monday condemned the “murders acknowledged by the Israeli army” of Al Jazeera correspondent Anas Al-Sharif in Gaza, noting that the armed forces admitted he was their target.
While Israel accused Al-Sharif of being a “terrorist” with ties to Hamas, RSF described him as “one of the most famous journalists from the Gaza Strip (and) a voice of the suffering imposed by Israel on the Palestinian people in Gaza.”
The organization added that it “strongly and vigorously condemns the murders acknowledged by the Israeli army” of Al-Sharif and other journalists in Sunday’s attack on their tent in Gaza City.
Al Jazeera has filed four complaints with the International Criminal Court accusing Israel of committing war crimes against journalists in Gaza.
“In (Sunday's) deliberate attack, the Israeli army reproduced a known method already tested, notably against al-Jazeera journalists,” RSF said, referencing the killing of two journalists on July 31 of the previous year, as reported by Barron’s.
Israel had labeled one of them, Ismail Al-Ghoul, as a “terrorist.”
RSF called on other nations to act and urged the UN Security Council to convene in defense of journalists working 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,” RSF warned.
The group said nearly 200 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since the war began, which it referred to as genocide.
Following social media posts by Israeli military spokesman Avichai Adraee targeting Al-Sharif, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in July had called for his protection. CPJ accused Israel of a pattern of labeling journalists as militants “without providing credible evidence.”
The organization noted that similar accusations had been made against other journalists in Gaza earlier in the war, including additional Al Jazeera staff.
Al Jazeera condemned the attack that killed Al-Sharif as “a desperate attempt to silence voices exposing the Israeli occupation,” describing him as “one of Gaza’s bravest journalists.”
CPJ also pointed to “epeated incitement and calls by multiple Israeli officials and spokespersons to target the fearless journalist Anas Al Sharif and his colleagues.”
Expanding Conflict and Mounting Criticism
Foreign journalists are banned from entering Gaza, except during rare and tightly controlled visits with the Israeli military. These deadly attacks on journalists come amid growing international criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to expand Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip—moves seen as a cover for further atrocities.
Last week, Israel’s security cabinet approved a plan to seize the remaining 25 percent of Gaza not yet under Israeli control, including much of Gaza City and Al-Mawasi, a designated "safe zone" where thousands of Palestinian refugees have sought shelter.
This expansion plan has triggered sharp disagreements between the Israeli government and military leadership. It has also drawn condemnation from protesters within Israel and from foreign governments—including allies.
Germany, a key arms supplier and longtime ally of Israel, suspended weapons shipments that could be used in Gaza. Australia announced on Sunday it would join the growing list of Western countries formally recognizing Palestine.
Despite diplomatic backlash, Netanyahu stood firm. “We will win the war, with or without the support of others,” he told reporters on Sunday.
He continues to enjoy the backing of Israel’s top ally, the United States. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that “any military plans are very reliant on Israel.”
Warnings from the United Nations
The United Nations and humanitarian agencies have condemned Israel’s expansion strategy.
“If these plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza,” said UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jena during a Security Council meeting on Sunday.
UN bodies previously warned that famine is imminent in Gaza due to Israel’s strict limits on humanitarian aid entering the territory.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, a source the UN considers reliable, at least 61,430 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the war began.
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