Al Jazeera reported in the early hours of Monday that its journalist Anas al-Sharif had been killed alongside four colleagues in a targeted Israeli attack on a tent housing journalists in Gaza City.
Seven people in total were killed in the attack on the tent located outside the main gate of Gaza City's al-Shifa Hospital late on Sunday evening.
Among those who lost their lives were Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa.
Shortly before being killed, al-Sharif, a well-known 28-year-old Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who had reported extensively from Gaza, wrote on X that Israel had launched intense, concentrated bombardment – also known as "fire belts" – on the eastern and southern parts of Gaza City.
In his last video, the loud booms of Israel's intensive missile bombing can be heard in the background as the dark sky is lit in a flash of orange light.
Alongside the post, he wrote: "Nonstop bombing… For the past two hours, the Israeli aggression on Gaza City has intensified."
In a statement announcing the killing of al-Sharif, Israel's military accused the journalist of heading a Hamas cell and "advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and [Israeli] troops".
They also alleged to have documents providing "unequivocal proof" of his involvement with the Palestinian group.
Muhammed Shehada, an analyst at the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, said there was "zero evidence" that al-Sharif took part in any hostilities.
"His entire daily routine was standing in front of a camera from morning to evening," he told Al Jazeera.
The Al Jazeera 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.
The Committee to Protect Journalists last month said it was gravely concerned for al-Sharif's safety and that he was being "targeted by an Israeli military smear campaign".
Since Israel launched its war on the enclave in October 2023, it has routinely accused Palestinian journalists in Gaza of being members of Hamas as part of what rights groups say is an effort to discredit their reporting of Israeli abuses.
The Israeli military has killed more than 200 reporters and media workers since its bombardment began, including several Al Jazeera journalists and their relatives.
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