AFPC-USA Statement on the Killing of Al Jazeera Journalists
The Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the USA vehemently denounces the outrageous and deliberate killings of six Palestinian journalists in an intentional airstrike on their press tent in Gaza on August 10—four of them worked for the Qatar-based Al Jazeera network. Among the dead was one of the most prominent Palestinian journalists covering the war there, Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif, who had reported on Israeli attacks on Gaza and cried recently on the air in response to the growing starvation facing the civilians there. “Gaza is dying, and we die with it,” he warned.
Israel’s military acknowledged targeting al-Sharif in the strike, accusing him of leading a Hamas cell, a charge Al Jazeera and al-Sharif had previously strongly denied and one Israel had made for months. We join the voices of other press freedom advocates, human rights groups, and the United Nations in condemning this attack and demanding an independent and transparent investigation into the killings with the goal of holding those responsible to face justice. The Committee to Protect Journalists has called the Israeli charges against al-Sharif “a smear campaign” that al-Sharif feared was designed to justify his assassination, and Reporters Without Borders has said there was no “solid evidence” to support those charges.
Al Jazeera’s artboard of the four journalists killed by an Israeli strike.
These latest killings add to the horrors of the war in Gaza, which has gone on for a year and 10 months, with some Israeli hostages still being held in the Gaza Strip since the brutal Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Throughout the war, international journalists have been banned from reporting in Gaza, and only a relatively small number have been allowed in with Israeli escorts. Independent Gaza journalists have been a lifeline for the civilian population there, letting the world know what is happening inside the strip.
What’s at stake here, beyond the human cost, is the principle of the protection of journalists and free expression. The targeted killing of journalists is illegal under international humanitarian law. Journalists are civilians and noncombatants and must be protected. But these international norms have not made them safe in Gaza. We endorse the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ statement that “Journalists and media workers must be respected, they must be protected, and they must be allowed to carry out their work freely, free from fear and free from harassment.”
And yet, this latest attack comes as CPJ estimates 184 Palestinian journalists have been killed by Israel in Gaza since the start of the war, along with six Lebanese journalists. At least two Israeli journalists have also been killed. The Association condemns this latest loss of life in the strongest possible terms. Those killed with Anas al-Sharif, 28, were Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh, 33, and Al Jazeera cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, 25, and Mohammed Noufal, 29. Also killed were freelance cameraman Momen Aliwa and freelance journalist Mohammed al-Khalidi.
The Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the USA believes these attacks are attempts to kill the messengers, but they will not silence the message of free expression. This must be defended by all who believe in a free press. We call on Israel and its principal ally, the United States, to protect the lives of civilian journalists in war or peace, to uphold both their nations’ stated commitments to defend press freedom, and to allow an independent, unbiased, and transparent investigation holding not only those responsible for these murders criminally liable but also those governments that encourage, allow, and condone these actions.
