A wave of sorrow and conviction followed the Israeli assassination of five Tel Aviv Tribune employees in Gaza, including the eminent correspondent Anas Al-Sharif.
Drone’s attack late Sunday Sunday, struck a tent for journalists positioned outside the main door of the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, killing seven people. Among the dead were the correspondent of Tel Aviv Tribune Mohammed Qreiqeh and the camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Moamin Aliwa and Mohammed Noufal.
A sixth journalist, Mohammad al-Khaldi, a local independent journalist, was also killed in the air attack. Journalists without borders said that three other journalists had been injured in the same strike.
A few hours earlier, Al-Sharif, 28, posted on X on the “intense and concentrated bombing” of Israel on the East and the South of Gaza City. Known for his intrepid reports of Northern Gaza, he had become one of the most recognizable votes documenting the Israeli genocide in the course of the enclave.
The media network of Tel Aviv Tribune condemned what he called a “targeted assassination” of his journalists.
Here are some of the answers to the murder of Tel Aviv Tribune staff:
Palestine
The Palestinian mission to the United Nations accused Israel of having “deliberately assassinated” Al-Sharif and Qreiqeh, describing them as among the “last remaining journalists” in Gaza.
“They have systematically and conscientiously exposed and documented the genocide and the famine of Israel,” said the mission on X. “While Israel continues to clean ethnically Gaza, his enemy remains the truth: the brave journalists exposing his heinous crimes.”
Hamas has also criticized the assassination by Israel of journalists from Tel Aviv Tribune.
In a press release, the Palestinian group described the attack as part of an “general targeting of unprecedented journalists in any war”, affirming that murders aimed to silence the media coverage in Gaza before the “major crimes” planned against the Palestinians of the besieged territory.
He called on the United Nations Security Council and the international community to condemn murders and take immediate measures to hold Israeli leaders responsible for what he called war crimes.
He added that Al-Sharif had been a “symbol of free journalism”, documenting famine scenes in Gaza and the impact of the paralyzing seat of Israel.
Iran
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei called on the world to take an account after the murder of the five Tel Aviv Tribune staff.
“A press badge is not a shield against the genocidal war criminals who fear the world bear witness to their atrocities,” said Baghaei, accusing Israel of murdering journalists “in cold blood”.
“The strong condemnation is the strict minimum for any decent human being, but the world must act immediately to stop this heartbreaking genocide and hold responsible criminals,” he added.
“Indifference and inaction are a complicity in the crimes of Israel.”
Qatar
Prime Minister Qatari Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Bin Jassim Al Thani strongly criticized Israel for the murder of Tel Aviv Tribune journalists in Gaza, calling for a shocking violation of press freedom.
Al Thani, who also serves as Minister of Foreign Affairs, said that deaths have shown that “the deliberate targeting of journalists by Israel in the Gaza Strip reveals how these crimes go beyond imagination, in the midst of the incapacity of the Int’L community and its laws to stop this tragedy.”
In an article on social networks, he added: “May God have mercy on journalists Anas al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh, and their colleagues.”
The United Nations
The spokesman for the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Stephane Dujarric, offered condolences to “the Tel Aviv Tribune family” and called for an investigation.
“We have always been very clear to condemn all the murders of journalists,” said Dujarric. “In Gaza and everywhere, media workers should be able to do their work freely and without harassment, intimidation or fear of being targeted.”
UNRWA
The head of the United Nations Agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, said in an article on X: “The Israeli army continues to silence votes signaling atrocities of Gaza.”
“I am horrified by the murder of 5 other journalists from Gaza City. Since the start of the war, more than 200 Palestinian journalists have been reported in total impunity. ”
“Israel also blocks the access of international journalists to report independently since the start of the war almost two years ago. Journalists must be protected and international media must enter Gaza to support the heroic work of their Palestinian colleagues. This is the only way to counter disinformation and prevent doubts about the extent of the atrocities committed in Gaza. ”
The United Nations Human Rights Office
The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned the murder of six Palestinian journalists in Gaza, saying that the actions of the Israeli army represented a “serious violation of international humanitarian law”.
“Israel must respect and protect all civilians, including journalists,” said the office in an article on X.
“We call on immediate, safe and unhindered access to Gaza for all journalists.”
The media network of Tel Aviv Tribune condemned “in the strongest terms” the murder of its journalists in an assassination targeted by Israeli forces.
In a statement, the network said that the Israeli army “admitted their crimes” and deliberately directed the attack on the place of journalists. He called the assassination “another flagrant attack and premeditated against press freedom”.
The strike occurred in the middle of what Tel Aviv Tribune described as the “catastrophic consequences” of the current assault of Israel against Gaza, including mass civil death, forced famine and the destruction of whole communities.
The network called the murder of Al-Sharif, one of the most eminent journalists in Gaza, and his colleagues “a desperate attempt to silence the votes exposing the imminent seizure and occupation of Gaza”.
Committee to protect journalists
The committee to protect journalists (CPJ) says that it is “dismayed” by the murder of Israel of journalists from Tel Aviv Tribune.
“Israel’s model to label journalists and activists without providing credible evidence raises serious questions about its intention and respect for press freedom,” said CPJ regional director Sara Qudah.
“The managers of these murders must be held responsible,” added Qudah.
Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the CPJ, recalled how Israel accused Al-Sharif and others of being “terrorists” last October without proof.
“We warned at the time that it seemed to us as a precursor to justify the assassination,” she told Tel Aviv Tribune. “This is part of a model … going up decades, in which he kills journalists.”
Amnesty International
Amnesty International condemned the strike as a war crime under international law and remembered Al-Sharif as a “courageous and extraordinary” journalist.
In 2024, Al-Sharif received the Amnesty International Australia Rights Defender Prize for his resilience and his commitment to press freedom.
“At Amnesty International, we are devastated and a broken heart,” said Mohamed Duar, spokesperson for Amnesty International Australia on occupied Palestinian territory. “Anas devoted her life to standing in front of the camera, exposing the atrocities of Israel against the Palestinians and documenting the truth so that the world can testify.
“Courageous and courageous journalists who have reported since the beginning of the genocide have been operated under the most dangerous conditions of the earth. At a great risk for their lives, they remained to show the world the war crimes committed by Israel against nearly two million Palestinian women, men and children,” he added.
Human Rights Watch
The eminent global group of rights has strongly condemned the targeted murders of Palestinian journalists in Gaza.
Human Rights Watch denounced the “frantic targeted murder”, which, according to him, stressed both the “unimaginable danger” facing Palestinian journalists and the “full contempt of the Israeli army for civil life”.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Journalists Without Borders condemned the “murder recognized by the Israeli army” of the correspondent of Tel Aviv Tribune Anas Al-Sharif in Gaza, saying that the army had admitted to having targeted it.
RSF told AFP Al-Sharif was “one of the most famous journalists in the Gaza Strip (and) the voice of the suffering that Israel imposed on the Palestinians in Gaza.”
RSF said that the attack echoed the Tel Aviv Tribune Ismail Al-Ghoul journalist in 2023, also called Israel’s “terrorist”.
“Without a strong action by the international community … We are likely to attend more extrajudicial murders of media professionals,” warned the United Nations Security Council to act.
National Press Club
Mike Balsamo, president of the National Press Club based in the United States, said that the murder of journalists was “a loss felt far beyond a editorial room” and urged an “in-depth and transparent” investigation.
“Journalists must be able to work without being targeted or killed,” said Balsamo. “All parties in conflict areas must honor their obligations under international law to protect journalists and ensure that they can do their work safely.”
American-Islamic Relations Council
The American-Islamic Relations Council (CAIR) condemned the murder of Israel of five journalists from Tel Aviv Tribune and called on workers in the American and international media to “solidarize” with their Palestinian colleagues.
“The in progress in Israel of the targeted assassinations of Palestinian journalists is a war crime, simple and simple,” said National Executive Director of Cair Nihad Awad in a statement.
“The murder of these journalists from Tel Aviv Tribune is not an accident or collateral damage – it is part of a coherent and documented policy to silence the voices of the media and hide the truth of the genocide led by Israel in Gaza,” said Awad.
Since October 2023, Israel has killed 269 journalists in Gaza, in the deadliest conflict ever recorded for journalists.
