Watchdog Slams Israel Over Gaza Journalist Killings

• Aug 11, 2025

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has strongly condemned Israel’s killing of five journalists in Gaza, including Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif, accusing the country of repeatedly labelling reporters as militants without credible proof. The media watchdog said this practice raises serious concerns about press freedom and the safety of journalists in conflict zones.

The journalists killed were al-Sharif, fellow Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh, and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa. CPJ stressed that journalists are civilians who “must never be targeted” and urged that those responsible be “held accountable.”

UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression Irene Khan echoed these concerns, saying there is “growing evidence” that journalists in Gaza have been “targeted and killed by the Israeli army on the basis of unsubstantiated claims that they were Hamas terrorists.” She criticised Israel for both refusing to allow international journalists into Gaza and for what she described as systematically obstructing, threatening, and killing the few local journalists still able to report.

“On the one hand, Israel refuses to allow any international journalists to enter Gaza, and on the other, it ruthlessly smears, threatens, obstructs, targets and kills the few local journalists remaining as the only eyes of the outside world on the ongoing genocide,” Khan said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a directive had been issued instructing the military to allow foreign journalists into Gaza, adding that he believed “it can be done” despite security challenges. Israel has long argued that security concerns prevent it from granting such access, claiming it could put reporters and military personnel at risk.

Al Jazeera English director Salah Negm dismissed Israel’s allegation that al-Sharif was a member of Hamas, saying “they have not proved anything.” He noted his decades in journalism and his experience covering wars, stating that while journalists have sometimes been killed in conflict, he had never seen “deliberate murders like this” with perpetrators going unpunished.

Israel maintains it has evidence linking al-Sharif to Hamas, but critics say such claims lack transparency and undermine press freedom.