Israel’s military said it killed an Al Jazeera journalist it accused of being a Hamas cell leader in a Gaza air strike on Sunday, but rights advocates said he had been targeted for his frontline reporting on the Gaza war and Israel’s claim lacked evidence.

Anas al-Sharif (28) was among a group of four Al Jazeera journalists and an assistant who died in a strike on a tent near Shifa Hospital in eastern Gaza City, Gaza officials and Al Jazeera said. An official at the hospital said two other people were also killed in the strike.

Calling Mr Sharif “one of Gaza’s bravest journalists”, Al Jazeera said the attack was a “desperate attempt to silence voices in anticipation of the occupation of Gaza”.

Mr Sharif was the head of a Hamas cell and “was responsible for advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF [Israeli] troops”, the Israeli military said in a statement, citing intelligence and documents found in Gaza as evidence.

Journalists’ groups and Al Jazeera denounced the killings.

The other journalists killed were Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher and Mohammed Noufal, Al Jazeera said.

A press freedom group and a UN expert previously warned that Mr Sharif’s life was in danger due to his reporting from Gaza. UN special rapporteur Irene Khan said last month that Israel’s claims against him were unsubstantiated.

Al Jazeera said Mr Sharif had left a social media message to be posted in the event of his death that read, “…I never hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or misrepresentation, hoping that God would witness those who remained silent”.

Last October, Israel’s military had named Mr Sharif as one of six Gaza journalists it alleged were members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, citing documents it said showed lists of people who completed training courses and salaries.

“Al Jazeera categorically rejects the Israeli occupation forces’ portrayal of our journalists as terrorists and denounces their use of fabricated evidence,” the network said in a statement at the time.

In a statement, the Committee to Protect Journalists, which in July urged the international community to protect Mr Sharif, said Israel had failed to provide any evidence to back up its allegations against him.

“Israel’s pattern of labeling journalists as militants without providing credible evidence raises serious questions about its intent and respect for press freedom,” said Sara Qudah, CPJ’s director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Mr Sharif, whose X account showed more than 500,000 followers, posted on the platform minutes before his death that Israel had been intensely bombarding Gaza City for more than two hours.

Palestinian militant group Hamas, which runs Gaza, said the killing may signal the start of an Israeli offensive. “The assassination of journalists and the intimidation of those who remain paves the way for a major crime that the occupation is planning to commit in Gaza City,” Hamas said in a statement.

Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has said he would launch a new offensive to dismantle Hamas strongholds in Gaza, where a hunger crisis is escalating after 22 months of war. “Anas al-Sharif and his colleagues were among the last remaining voices in Gaza conveying the tragic reality to the world,” Al Jazeera said.

The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said 237 journalists have been killed since the war started on October 7th, 2023. The Committee to Protect Journalists said at least 186 journalists have been killed in the Gaza conflict.

Australia plans to recognise a Palestinian state as early as Monday, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Prime minister Anthony Albanese could sign off on the move after a regular cabinet meeting on Monday, the paper reported, citing unidentified sources.

Albanese’s office did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

France and Canada last month said it planned to recognise a Palestinian state, while Britain has said it would follow suit unless Israel addresses the humanitarian crisis in Palestine and reaches a ceasefire. Ireland formally recognised Palestine in May 2024.

Israel has condemned decisions by countries to support a Palestinian state, saying it will reward Hamas.

Mr Netanyahu told reporters on Sunday that most Israeli citizens were against establishing a Palestinian state as they thought that would bring war and not peace, even as thousands of protesters flooded the streets of Tel Aviv, opposing his plan to escalate the nearly two-year war and seize Gaza City.

“To have European countries and Australia march into that rabbit hole just like that, fall right into it … this is disappointing and I think it’s actually shameful but it’s not going to change our position,” Mr Netanyahu said.

Albanese has been calling for a two-state solution, with his centre-left government supporting Israel’s right to exist within secure borders and Palestinians’ right to their own state. – Reuters

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