‘War crime’: World condemns Israeli strike that killed 6 journalists in Gaza

The UN human rights agency condemned Israel and said that the strike on the tent in Gaza was a "grave breach of international humanitarian law".

Strong disapproval poured in from across the world after six journalists were killed in an Israeli strike on their tent in Gaza City on Sunday. Anas al-Sharif, an Al Jazeera reporter who had been extensively covering the war in Gaza, was also among those killed in the strike.

Palestinians took to the streets to protest against the killing of journalists in Gaza. (Reuters)

From the United Nations to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, global leaders and organisations have condemned Israel's strike on journalists in Gaza.

Later, the Israeli military admitted to targeting al-Sharif, whom it had labelled as Hamas-affiliated "terrorist".

"A short while ago, in Gaza City, the IDF struck the terrorist Anas Al-Sharif, who posed as a journalist for the Al Jazeera network. Anas Al-Sharif served as the head of a terrorist cell in the Hamas terrorist organisation and was responsible for advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops," the Israel defense forces said on Telegram.

Al Jazeera said that other members killed in the strike on the tent outside the main gate of the al-Shifa hospital were Mohammed Qreiqeh, and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa. The sixth person who died in the attack was Mohammed Al-Khaldi, a Palestinian freelance journalist.

Israel and Al Jazeera have had a conflicted relationship for several years, with Jerusalem banning the channel in the country and raiding its offices against the backdrop of the war in Gaza.

Qatar, which partly funds Al Jazeera, also hosts an office for the Hamas political leadership, and has been a frequent venue for indirect talks between the militant group and Israel.

Earlier in July, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said that over 200 journalists had been killed in Gaza since the war began, including many of Al Jazeera's.

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The Hamas-run media office in Gaza said that 238 journalists have been killed since the war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023.

As per the Committee to Protect Journalists, with Sunday’s killing,at least 192 journalists have been killed since the start of the Israeli-Gaza war in October 2023. Of this, 184 journalists were Palestinians killed by Israel.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his plan to take over Gaza and target the remaining Hamas strongholds, saying that it was "the best way to end the war". He said that the new operation would be implemented on a "fairly short timetable".

World reacts to journalists' killing

Reporters Without Borders condemned the "acknowledged murder by the Israeli army". The press freedom campaign group told news agency AFP that it "strongly and angrily condemns the acknowledged murder by the Israeli army" of Anas al-Sharif and other journalists after Israel labelled him a "terrorist" affiliated with Hamas and called on the global community to intervene.

Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani also lambasted Israel for killing the Al Jazeera journalists, saying that the deaths are "crimes beyond imagination". In a post on X, he wrote, "The deliberate targeting of journalists by Israel in the Gaza Strip reveals how these crimes are beyond imagination... May God have mercy on journalists Anas Al-Sharif, Mohammed Qraiqea, and their colleagues."

The UN human rights agency also slammed Israel's killing of six journalists in Gaza as a "grave breach of international humanitarian law". In a post on X, the office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, said, "Israel must respect and protect all civilians, including journalists."

Turk's office noted that at least 242 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza since Hamas' attacks on Israel triggered a war in the Middle East region on October 7, 2023.

"We call for immediate, safe and unhindered access to Gaza for all journalists," it said.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also expressed “grave concern'”over the repeated targeting of journalists in Gaza, his spokesperson said on Monday.

Media advocacy group, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), also condemned the attack and said that journalists should never be targeted in war.

"Journalists are civilians. They must never be targeted in war. And to do so is a war crime," Jodie Ginsberg, the chief executive of CPJ, told AFP.

CPJ had in July called for Anas al-Sharif's protection after an Israeli military spokesperson claimed that he was a militant. The group accused Israel of a "pattern" of labelling journalists militants "without providing credible evidence".