Condemnations have been mounting since the announcement of the assassination of six journalists, five of whom worked for the Qatari channel Al Jazeera. The press rights organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Monday, August 11, condemned " with force and anger the assassination claimed by the Israeli army" of an Al Jazeera journalist in the Gaza Strip. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Qatar also denounced " the deliberate targeting " of Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza by Israel.

On Sunday, August 10, Al Jazeera , a Qatar-based channel, announced the death of five of its journalists in an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip. Among them was Anas al-Sharif, 28, a reporter well-known to his viewers, whom the Israeli army admitted to targeting, calling him a " terrorist " who " posed as a journalist ." He " was the leader of a terrorist cell within the Hamas terrorist organization and was responsible for preparing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and troops ," it claimed on Telegram.

These accusations are unproven, retorts RSF. " Anas al-Sharif, one of the most famous journalists in the Gaza Strip, was the voice of the suffering imposed by Israel on the Palestinians in Gaza ," Reporters Without Borders said in a statement, calling for " strong action by the international community to stop the Israeli army ."

Reporters Without Borders also accused the Israeli army of having " reproduced a known and proven method, notably against Al Jazeera journalists ." " On July 31, 2024, the Israeli army killed reporters Ismail al-Ghoul and Rami al-Rifi in a targeted attack that was claimed, accusing the former of being a terrorist ," RSF said.

" Since the beginning of the conflict, Al Jazeera staff have been repeatedly targeted. The Al Jazeera team and Anas al-Sharif were preparing for the possibility of such a strike," Thibaut Bruttin, director-general of Reporters Without Borders, told RFI on Monday, August 11. " That's why he wrote a letter that was made public by Al Jazeera in the hours following his death. "

Qatar and the UN also condemn

For his part, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani denounced, on X, " Israel's deliberate targeting of journalists in the Gaza Strip " which " reveals the extent to which these crimes defy imagination ." The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights also accused Israel of having " targeted the tent " where the Al Jazeera employees were staying, which " constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law ," according to the statement.

Sixth journalist dies

The other dead were correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh, photojournalist Mohammed Al-Khaldi, and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa. The five victims were buried Monday morning at the Sheikh Redouan cemetery in Gaza City, according to an AFP videographer.

And this Monday morning, we learned of the death of another freelance journalist, injured in the attack on the tent housing Al Jazeera reporters. " Photojournalist Mohammed Al-Khaldi succumbed to his injuries [...] This brings to six " the victims of this strike, the spokesman for the Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip, Mahmoud Bassal, told AFP.

Their names are added to a list of nearly 200 journalists, according to RSF, killed in the war launched in retaliation for the bloody attack by the Palestinian movement Hamas on October 7, 2023.

According to Reporters Without Borders, " the UN Security Council must meet urgently on the basis of Resolution 2222 of 2015 on the protection of journalists in armed conflict " to prevent " such extrajudicial killings of media workers ." The NGO also noted that it had filed " four complaints " against the Israeli army " with the International Criminal Court for war crimes committed against journalists in Gaza ."