Gaza City, August 11 (HS): A late‑night Israeli airstrike on Gaza has sparked outrage after Iran’s semi‑official Mehr news agency claimed four Al Jazeera journalists were among the seven people killed. The strike, reportedly carried out by a drone minutes before midnight local time, hit a media tent outside Al‑Shifa Hospital.

Al Jazeera confirmed the deaths of Anas al‑Sharif, Mohammed Karikeh, photographer Ibrahim al‑Thaher Zaher, and Mohammed Noufal, condemning the attack as a “premeditated assault” on press freedom. The network described the four as among the “last remaining voices” chronicling the devastation inside Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), however, strongly rejected this characterization. In a statement on its official X (formerly Twitter) account, the military insisted that Anas al‑Sharif was not a journalist but the head of a Hamas terrorist cell who “launched rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers” while posing as a reporter.

The Gaza Health Ministry said the latest strike added to a staggering death toll of 61,430 since the outbreak of intensified clashes in October 2023, which have already claimed dozens of journalists working in the enclave.

The killings have sharpened global debate over the safety of journalists in conflict zones, with media watchdogs warning that the hazardous environment in Gaza is nearing a breaking point

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar