Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator
On August 10, Israel deliberately targeted a tent near Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza, killing two Al Jazeera journalists, Anas Al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqa. Killed with them were photojournalists Ibrahim Zaher, Moamen Alaiwa, and camera assistant Mohammed Noufal.
A sixth journalist succumbed to his injuries the following morning.
The attack occurred in an area heavily populated by press teams covering the ongoing conflict.
The office confirmed that the total number of journalists killed since the beginning of the war on Gaza has now reached 238.
Israel does not want their citizens, or the world, to see what the actual situation is inside Gaza. Israel has not allowed foreign reporters to enter Gaza since October 7, 2023, unless they are under Israeli military escort. Israeli media is highly censored by the government.
Foreign journalists are found on the battlefields of conflicts around the world. Often, they enter a place legally, but they also go places prohibited in order to bear witness of the truth. Why aren’t there any foreign journalists smuggled into Gaza? They could enter clandestinely from either Egypt or Israel.
There are no foreign journalists in Gaza because Israel is shielded, protected, and defended by the U.S. and the threat of American reprisals puts fear into the hearts of western journalists, who could be black-balled if they broke the vow of silence placed on Gaza.
The Syrian civil war began in March 2011, and almost immediately, foreign journalists were across Syria reporting on the uprising attempting to over throw the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
Damascus soon refused to issue Visas to foreign journalists, but that never stopped them. The journalists simply smuggled themselves in from neighboring borders, such as Turkey, Iraq, and Lebanon.
The American government, at the time headed by President Barack Obama, exerted a great deal of pressure on the US media, and European media followed suit, to highlight atrocities committed by the Assad forces, and never mention the crimes committed by the US-backed rebels.
Marie Colvin was an American journalist, working for the UK media ‘The Sunday Times’ from 1985 to her death in 2012. She came into Syria illegally to report the truth of what the Assad regime was doing to the Syrian people.
She died on February 22, 2012 in Homs while reporting. A website devoted to her recalls she received many awards and honors during her career, including the Courage in Journalism Award, the British Press Award and Foreign Press International’s Journalist of the Year Award. Many have called her the “greatest war correspondent of her generation.”
The US and UK media claimed the Assad regime had targeted and killed Colvin. Without any investigation, the crime was solved, because Assad was the criminal the U.S and UK wanted gone. There is even a film made about her, “A Private War”.
Another famous American journalist killed in the line of duty, was Shireen Abu Akleh, who worked as a reporter for 25 years for Al Jazeera. She was killed by Israeli forces while wearing a blue press vest and covering a raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on May 11, 2022.
A documentary about her death reveals the name of the Israeli soldier who assassinated her. The official U.S. government position was the American citizen died by accident.
The film reveals an assessment by the Biden administration, after onsite forensic investigation conducted by American personnel, found that Akleh's killing was intentional and that the Israeli soldier who killed her knew he was shooting at a journalist.
However, Biden overruled the finding, in favor of U.S. ally, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, and ruled her killing was unintentional.
In the case of Colvin, she was hailed a hero in the US, but Akleh was lied about. Colvin’s killer was an enemy of the U.S., but Akleh’s killer is the closest ally of the US.
The killing of Anas Al-Sharif came just hours after Netanyahu announced that foreign journalists would be allowed into Gaza—a move seen by many as a public relations gesture amid growing international scrutiny. Al-Sharif had previously received direct threats from the Israeli military for his coverage of the humanitarian crisis and alleged war crimes in Gaza. He had documented scenes of starvation and destruction, often from the front lines.
In past interviews, Al-Sharif revealed that he had been repeatedly threatened, both directly and indirectly, and that his family had been targeted. His father was killed in an earlier strike, and he had survived multiple attacks while reporting alongside colleagues Ismail Al-Ghoul, Fadi Al-Wahidi, and Hussam Shabat.
Despite the risks, Al-Sharif remained committed to his mission: “They don’t want the world to see what I document. But I will continue to report professionally. God is my protector,” he said in a previous statement to Arab21.
Following the strike, the Israeli military claimed that Al-Sharif was a commander in a Hamas cell responsible for launching rockets at Israeli civilians and military forces. This accusation was swiftly rejected by Al Jazeera and international observers. Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, had previously warned that Al-Sharif’s life was in danger and dismissed Israeli allegations as baseless.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned the killing of six journalists, including Al-Sharif and Qreiqa, calling it a “blatant violation of international humanitarian law.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department declined to condemn the killings, referring inquiries to the Israeli government and expressing only general concern over “the loss of innocent life.”
The recent attack is part of a broader pattern of violence against journalists in Gaza. Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been accused of committing genocide in Gaza, resulting in over 61,430 deaths, 153,213 injuries, and thousands of missing persons. The war has displaced hundreds of thousands and caused widespread famine, particularly affecting children.
Numerous journalists have been killed while clearly marked with press insignia and wearing safety gear. Among the victims in recent days were:
- Ibrahim Lafi (Fourth Authority Agency)
- Mohammed Jargon (Ain Media)
- Mohammed Al-Salhi (Fourth Authority Agency)
- Asaad Shamlekh
- Saeed Al-Taweel (Director of Al-Khamisa Agency)
- Hisham Al-Nawajha (Editor at Khabar Agency)
- Mohammed Sobh (Photographer at Khabar Agency)
These journalists were killed while covering evacuations and documenting Israeli airstrikes. The Israeli military also targeted media offices, including the French Press Agency, Palestine TV, and Al-Ayyam newspaper.
Media watchdogs and human rights organizations assert that the systematic targeting of journalists is intended to suppress coverage of atrocities and prevent the global community from witnessing the reality on the ground.
As Gaza continues to endure unprecedented suffering, the loss of these journalists represents not only a humanitarian tragedy, but a direct assault on the freedom of the press and the right to truth.
Steven Sahiounie is a two-time award-winning journalist.