MBABANE:Aljazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif has been killed alongside three colleagues in what appears to be a targeted Israeli attack, the Director of the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City has said.
Aljazeera reported that, Al-Sharif(28), was killed on Sunday after a tent for journalists outside the main gate of the hospital was hit.
The well-known Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent reported extensively from northern Gaza.
Aljazeera correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher and Mohammed Noufal were also among the victims.
In a statement announcing the killing of al-Sharif, Israel’s military accused the journalist of heading a Hamas cell and of “advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and [Israeli] troops.”
The Aljazeera Media Network had recently denounced the Israeli military for what it called a “campaign of incitement” against its reporters in the Gaza Strip, including most notably al-Sharif.
In July, Israeli Army Spokesperson Avichai Adraee reshared a video on social media accusing al-Sharif of being a member of Hamas’s military wing-a claim that has been forcefully rejected as false.
Israel has routinely accused Palestinian journalists in Gaza of being members of Hamas since it launched its war on the enclave in October 2023 as part of what rights groups say is an effort to discredit their reporting on Israeli abuses.
The Israeli military has killed more than two hundred(200) reporters and media workers since its bombardment began, including several Al Jazeera journalists and their relatives.
Aljazeera reporter Anas al-Sharif in Gaza [File: Al Jazeera