Updated August 15, 2025 at 7:56 PM CDT
The killing of Anas al-Sharif — one of Al Jazeera's most recognizable correspondents in Gaza — signals an escalation of the dangers journalists face in covering Israel's war against Hamas in the territory, says Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), "because, Israel was very open in saying that it had targeted Anas al-Sharif, but they have not been able to explain what justified killing those other journalists."
Al-Sharif was among six journalists killed in a targeted Israeli strike on Aug. 10. The Israeli military said al-Sharif was the head of a Hamas "rocket-firing brigade," and published spreadsheets that it said showed he was on Hamas' payroll. Salah Negm, Al Jazeera's director of news, rejected those allegations calling them "completely fabricated" in an interview with Morning Edition, adding al-Sharif was "a journalist doing his job, nothing more."
Negm said that al-Sharif had received threats from the Israeli military prior to his death. Negm said the 28-year-old journalist had chosen to live in a tent near a hospital to avoid endangering others in Gaza who were not comfortable renting to al-Sharif because Israel's accusations against him made him a target.
Negm said the media tent was hit while five other journalists were working in it with al-Sharif. "They were never accused of anything," he said. "They deserve protection and to be treated according to international law, humanity and compassion."
NPR asked the Israeli military if it had proof of al-Sharif's involvement in Hamas beyond the inclusion in the lists they published, and whether they could provide evidence that he has served as a Hamas fighter since the start of the war. NPR also asked when the lists were created, how up to date they were, and why the military decided to kill al-Sharif. The military told NPR it would not be providing any further information in response to those questions.
Ginsberg told Morning Edition that her organization is also pressing Israel to provide answers to CPJ's questions regarding allegations against al-Sharif— and why al-Sharif and the other journalists were killed.
"We've seen this playbook before. It's often preceded the killings of a journalist, and it's often used after the killing of a journalist to excuse the killing by Israel," Ginsberg said. She added that CPJ is now investigating at least 26 cases in which she said journalists have been directly targeted by Israel.
"In some of those cases, Israel has alleged that those individuals were terrorists — again, either without providing evidence or providing evidence that is questionable, as is the case of Anas al-Sharif, or evidence that is not possible to corroborate independently," Ginsberg said.
The CPJ CEO added that, "experts have repeatedly raised questions about the nature of the documents and the veracity of the documents themselves." She cites the example of another Al Jazeera journalist, Ismail al-Ghoul, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in 2024, saying, "the documents that Israel provided would have had him as a commander of a battalion, I believe, at age ten."
The CPJ is calling for a transparent investigation into the killing of the six journalists and holding those responsible to account. Since the war began, Ginsberg says 192 journalists have been killed in Gaza, primarily by the Israeli military.
Ginsberg added that Israel is obligated to investigate and explain the attack on Anas al-Sharif under international law. "When those rules are ignored, some of these killings amount to war crimes."
This digital article was edited by Obed Manuel. The radio version of this story was produced by Ana Perez and Iman Maani.
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