If you kill Journalists: it's because you want to stop the truth getting out

TetleysTLDR: The summary

The killing of Anas al-Sharif, just 28 years old, alongside three of his colleagues in what multiple witnesses describe as a deliberate Israeli strike on a press tent outside al-Shifa Hospital, is not some 'tragic accident', It fits a clear, documented pattern. Israel has been systematically targeting Palestinian journalists since October 2023 with more than two hundred killed so far, overwhelmingly local reporters and camera crews from Al Jazeera and other Palestinian outlets.

No international press has been allowed into Gaza, and those who remain are overwhelmingly Palestinians, the only eyes and voices left to tell the world what is happening. When an Israeli drone fires a missile at a clearly marked media tent, the message is obvious: shut up or die. It’s part of a war not only against the Palestinian people, but against witnesses. Al Jazeera has been singled out repeatedly, their offices in Gaza bombed, their correspondents and families killed, their journalists stalked. It’s censorship by murder. If Western governments and media organisations had even a fraction of courage, they would call this what it is: the assassination of journalists to cover up war crimes. Instead, we hear mealy-mouthed platitudes about 'fog of war', but there’s no fog when a drone locks onto a tent full of reporters at 11:35pm. That is a deliberate silencing.

TetleysTLDR: The article

At 11:35pm on Sunday, 10 August 2025 (20:35 GMT), an Israeli drone strike hit a clearly identified press tent outside the main gate of Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital. Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif, 28, was killed alongside multiple Al Jazeera colleagues and other media workers. Witnesses describe a targeted hit on a shelter known to be used by reporters. This wasn’t 'fog of war'. It was a shot at the messengers. Al Jazeera

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have asserted that Anas al‑Sharif was 'the head of a Hamas terrorist cell', responsible for organising rocket attacks, receiving Hamas salary, and operating covertly while posing as an Al Jazeera journalist. They say they found 'documents providing unequivocal proof', including lists of operatives, phone directories, and injury tracking sheets Reuters Al Jazeera.

What is known from independent and media watchdog sources:

Al Jazeera and al‑Sharif himself firmly denied any such affiliations, calling the allegations baseless AP.
Multiple press freedom organisations, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF), demanded credible evidence and rejected the IDF's claims as unsubstantiated. The CPJ explicitly called them a 'smear campaign' and said there's no credible proof Al Jazeera.
Snopes reported that while the IDF posted documents purportedly showing al-Sharif’s name on Hamas lists, they did not explain how they obtained them, and the authenticity wasn’t independently verified Snopes.
Several editorial outlets including The Guardian, The New York Times, and op-eds criticised Israel’s claims as lacking evidentiary backing and as implausible, particularly considering al‑Sharif’s highly visible public presence as a correspondent Honest Reporting.
Experts also questioned how someone so publicly active as a journalist could simultaneously lead a militant cell without detection Al Jazeera.

Background context adds weight to skepticism:

Wikipedia notes that IDF previously accused al‑Sharif in October 2024 of Hamas ties and command roles, but Al Jazeera rejected those claims, and several rights groups raised serious doubts Al Jazeera.
It also mentions a so‑called 'Legitimisation Cell' within the IDF dedicated to finding, or fabricating links between journalists and militants to justify lethal strikes Wikipedia.

There is no credible, independently verified evidence that Anas al-Sharif was an active Hamas commander at the time of his death. The only evidence comes from Israeli military sources, which have not released verifiable proof and have been widely criticised for lacking transparency and legitimacy. In contrast, Al Jazeera, press freedom advocates, and various respected media outlets have strongly rejected these allegations as unfounded. So it’s entirely reasonable to say the claim, without independent corroboration, is highly dubious, and it is not unknown for Israel to lie. They do it all the time.

This attack didn’t happen in a vacuum. Press-freedom groups say more than 190 (238) journalists and media workers have been killed since the Gaza war began in October 2023, the deadliest conflict for journalists on record, with the overwhelming majority being Palestinian reporters who have been the only independent eyes inside the Strip. On 10 August alone, CPJ says an entire Al Jazeera crew was wiped out in Gaza City. Committee to Protect Journalists

Even as Israel gears up for another Gaza City offensive, the Media Freedom Coalition, 27 countries including the UK, publicly demanded on 21 August 2025 that Israel allow immediate, independent foreign media access to Gaza and protect journalists. When two dozen governments have to beg a 'democracy' to let reporters in, you know exactly what’s being hidden. GOV.UK Regeringskansliet

AP’s dispatch the week of the strike spelled it out: Israel hit a sheltering press group late Sunday, as advocacy organisations condemned a parallel smear campaign against al-Sharif. PBS likewise called it what it looked like, a targeted killing, noting the mounting toll of Palestinian reporters. There is a pattern here, and it’s not subtle. AP News PBS

The law is crystal clear: journalists are civilians.

Journalists are civilians under international humanitarian law. Article 79 of Additional Protocol I says so in black and white: Journalists engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict shall be considered as civilians and shall be protected as such, unless they take a direct part in hostilities.

UN Security Council Resolution 2222 (2015) re-affirms this and condemns attacks on journalists, demanding accountability. That’s the floor, not the ceiling. United Nations Security Council Report Targeting them is a war crime. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court classifies intentionally directing attacks against civilians as a war crime (Article 8(2)(b)(i)). It also criminalises attacks on protected objects like hospitals and places where the sick and wounded are collected (Article 8(2)(b)(ix)). A press tent at the gate of a hospital raises both civilian and medical-protection issues, and triggers strict precautions and proportionality duties on any attacker. ICRC IHL Databases casematrixnetwork.org Lieber Institute West Point

And spare us the post-strike PR. Even if the IDF alleges someone in that tent was something other than a journalist, the burden is on the attacker to prove loss of protection and precautions (target verification, weapon selection, warning, and timing) still apply. That’s IHL 101. If there’s doubt, protection is presumed. Lieber Institute West Point

What 10 August looked like: and why it matters

Time & place: roughly 11:35pm (20:35 GMT), Sunday 10 August 2025, outside al-Shifa’s main gate, at a marked press tent. Al Jazeera
Victims: Al Jazeera’s Anas al-Sharif and multiple Al Jazeera colleagues/camera operators were killed; other freelancers were also among the dead. Al Jazeera
Characterisation: CPJ and other watchdogs described it as a targeted strike on journalists; AP reported Israel 'targeted and killed' an Al Jazeera correspondent and others sheltering late Sunday. Committee to Protect Journalists AP News

This sits within a documented pattern: since 2023, CPJ has verified scores of journalist killings, including cases it explicitly classifies as murders (direct targeting by Israeli forces). The toll is not an accident of geography; it maps onto a systematic obliteration of local newsgathering while foreign media access is blocked. Committee to Protect Journalists GOV.UK

The legal case, in plain English

Here’s the checklist prosecutors and UN investigators will reach for:

Status: Were the victims journalists not taking direct part in hostilities? If yes, they are civilians (AP I, Art. 79; UNSC Res. 2222). United Nations Security Council Report
Targeting: Was the strike intentionally directed at civilians? If yes, Rome Statute Art. 8(2)(b)(i) war crime. ICRC IHL Databases
Protected site proximity: Did the attack occur at a hospital gate? If so, attacking hospitals/places where the sick and wounded are collected is separately criminal (Art. 8(2)(b)(ix)) unless that site had lost protection (and even then, stringent warnings/evacuations are required). casematrixnetwork.org
Proportionality & precautions: Even if a legitimate military objective were present, did Israel verify the target and minimise civilian harm? If foreseeable civilian harm was excessive relative to concrete military advantage, it’s unlawful. Failure to take feasible precautions is itself a violation. Lieber Institute West Point
Duty to investigate: States must investigate alleged war crimes by their forces and prosecute where appropriate (ICRC Customary IHL Rule 158). Paper-thin “internal reviews” won’t cut it. Lieber Institute West Point

On jurisdiction, the ICC Prosecutor has already pursued war-crimes warrants related to Gaza, including for intentionally directing attacks against civilians. That prosecutorial theory easily encompasses deliberate attacks on journalists. Reuters

When 27 governments have to plead for reporters to be let in, it’s an admission of systemic opacity. Blocking foreign journalists while local reporters are killed in record numbers doesn’t just chill speech, it freezes the crime scene. This is how impunity is manufactured. Open the gates. Let the world see. GOV.UK Regeringskansliet

What should happen next (yes, in Britain too)

Criminal accountability: The UK is a Rome Statute party. When credible evidence of grave breaches exists, Britain should support ICC proceedings, share evidence, and expand universal-jurisdiction investigations. Enough mealy-mouthed statements. ICRC IHL Databases
Targeted sanctions: Apply Magnitsky-style sanctions against units/commanders credibly implicated in attacks on journalists and obstruction of access.
Arms conditions: Suspend transfers where there’s a clear risk of serious IHL violations, a standard already embedded in UK/EU law, and make journalist safety a red-line condition.
Press solidarity: UK and international newsrooms must treat Palestinian journalists as peers, not as expendable stringers. Demand access and amplify the work of those who are still, miraculously, alive.
Independent inquiry with teeth: Not an in-house IDF note to file. A full, independent investigation with public findings, chain-of-command analysis, and prosecutorial referrals. The law requires it. Lieber Institute West Point

Say it plainly

Killing journalists is censorship by missile. The 10 August strike wasn’t random; it was the logical end-point of a policy that keeps foreign cameras out and bullseyes the locals brave enough to keep filming. There’s no grand moral puzzle here. If you torch the notepads and smash the lenses, it’s because you’re terrified of what they’re capturing. So let’s drop the euphemisms. A press tent at a hospital gate was obliterated. That’s not 'collateral damage' - it was a message. And unless London, Brussels and Washington stop wringing their hands and start enforcing the law they love to quote, we’ll get the same message again next Sunday night.

Cowardice in a suit is still cowardice and complicity in a tie is still complicity.

^{This is my will and my final message. If these words reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice.}

^{First, peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings. Allah knows I gave every effort and all my strength to be a support and a voice for my people, ever since I opened my eyes to life in the alleys and streets of the Jabaliya refugee camp. My hope was that Allah would extend my life so I could return with my family and loved ones to our original town of occupied Asqalan (al-Majdal). But Allah’s will came first, and His decree is final.}

^{I have lived through pain in all its details, tasted suffering and loss many times, yet I never once hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification, so that Allah may bear witness against those who stayed silent, those who accepted our killing, those who choked our breath, and whose hearts were unmoved by the scattered remains of our children and women, doing nothing to stop the massacre that our people have faced for more than a year and a half.}

^{I entrust you with Palestine, the jewel in the crown of the Muslim world, the heartbeat of every free person in this world. I entrust you with its people, with its wronged and innocent children who never had the time to dream or live in safety and peace. Their pure bodies were crushed under thousands of tons of Israeli bombs and missiles, torn apart and scattered across the walls. I urge you not to let chains silence you, nor borders restrain you. Be bridges toward the liberation of the land and its people, until the sun of dignity and freedom rises over our stolen homeland.}^{I entrust you to take care of my family. I entrust you with my beloved daughter, Sham, the light of my eyes, whom I never got the chance to watch grow up as I had dreamed. I entrust you with my dear son, Salah, whom I had wished to support and accompany through life until he grew strong enough to carry my burden and continue the mission. I entrust you with my beloved mother, whose blessed prayers brought me to where I am, whose supplications were my fortress and whose light guided my path. I pray that Allah grants her strength and rewards her on my behalf with the best of rewards.}^{I also entrust you with my lifelong companion, my beloved wife, Umm Salah (Bayan), from whom the war separated me for many long days and months. Yet she remained faithful to our bond, steadfast as the trunk of an olive tree that does not bend, patient, trusting in Allah, and carrying the responsibility in my absence with all her strength and faith. I urge you to stand by them, to be their support after Allah Almighty.}

^{If I die, I die steadfast upon my principles. I testify before Allah that I am content with His decree, certain of meeting Him, and assured that what is with Allah is better and everlasting. O Allah, accept me among the martyrs, forgive my past and future sins, and make my blood a light that illuminates the path of freedom for my people and my family. Forgive me if I have fallen short, and pray for me with mercy, for I kept my promise and never changed or betrayed it.}

^{Do not forget Gaza. And do not forget me in your sincere prayers for forgiveness and acceptance.}

^{Anas Al-Sharif, Journalist}

^{Key sources for this piece}

^{Event details & timing; victims: Al Jazeera reporting and explainer on the 10 August strike; CPJ incident write-up.}^{Al Jazeera}^{Committee to Protect Journalists}
^{Killings of journalists pattern: CPJ tally and analysis; PBS overview.}^{Committee to Protect Journalists}^PBS
^{Foreign media access blocked: Media Freedom Coalition statement (UK FCDO; Sweden MFA); Guardian coverage.}^GOV.UK^{Regeringskansliet}^{The Guardian}
^{Legal framework: AP I Art. 79 (UN); UNSC Res. 2222; ICC Rome Statute Art. 8(2)(b)(i) and (ix); IHL duties of proportionality/precautions and duty to investigate.}^{United Nations}^{Security Council Report}^{ICRC IHL Databases}^{casematrixnetwork.org}^{Lieber Institute West Point}

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