An Israeli navy spokesperson asserted on Monday that the outstanding Al Jazeera journalist it killed a day earlier was an lively Hamas member who acquired a wage from the phobia group, because the worldwide outcry mounted over the Gaza Metropolis strike that additionally took the lives of 5 different reporters.
“Previous to the strike, we obtained present intelligence indicating that [Anas] al-Sharif was an lively Hamas navy wing operative on the time of his elimination. As well as, he acquired a wage from the Hamas terror group and terrorist supporters, Al-Jazeera, on the similar time,” IDF worldwide spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani stated.
The IDF stated in a tweet that Al-Sharif was “the pinnacle of a Hamas terrorist cell and superior rocket assaults on Israeli civilians and IDF troops.
“Intelligence and paperwork from Gaza, together with rosters, terrorist coaching lists and wage information, show he was a Hamas operative built-in into Al Jazeera,” it stated, alongside a screenshot of related paperwork.
The navy didn’t touch upon the affiliation of the opposite 5 journalists who have been killed within the strike on a tent close to Gaza Metropolis’s Shifa Hospital together with Sharif.
Earlier Monday, the European Union joined the refrain of worldwide condemnations of the strike, with the bloc’s overseas coverage chief Kaja Kallas calling on Israel to offer “clear proof” of its declare concerning the affiliation of the journalists it focused.
In October, the IDF printed documents seized in Gaza that it stated proved that Sharif headed a rocket-launching squad and was a member of an elite Nukhba Power firm in Hamas’s East Jabalia Battalion.
Palestinians examine the destroyed Al Jazeera tent at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza Metropolis on August 11, 2025, following an in a single day strike by the Israeli navy. (Photograph by BASHAR TALEB / AFP)
In his Monday put up, Shoshani wrote that the paperwork the military printed in October are “solely a small, declassified portion of our intelligence on al-Sharif main as much as the strike.”
“This data was obtained throughout floor operations in Gaza at two separate areas,” he added.
United Nations Secretary-Basic Antonio Guterres referred to as for an “unbiased and neutral investigation into these newest killings,” stated UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
“Not less than 242 journalists have been killed in Gaza for the reason that struggle started. Journalists and media employees have to be revered, they have to be protected, and so they have to be allowed to hold out their work freely, free from worry and free from harassment,” he added.
International locations and worldwide organizations accused Israel of repeatedly concentrating on journalists after the Sunday strike. Al Jazeera stated the assault killed its correspondents Sharif and Mohammed Qraiqea together with cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Moamen Aliwa and Mohammed Noufal. Freelancer Mohammad al-Khaldi was additionally with the group and misplaced his life within the strike.
Protesters maintain photos and indicators denouncing the killing of Al Jazeera journalists throughout a vigil in Ramallah on August 11, 2025. (Zain JAAFAR / AFP)
The IDF on Sunday confirmed finishing up a strike, saying Sharif was a “terrorist working below the guise of a journalist.”
Al Jazeera has fiercely denied Israel’s allegations and accused it of systematically concentrating on Al Jazeera workers within the Gaza Strip.
A posthumous message, written in April in case of his dying, was printed on Sharif’s account on Monday morning, saying he had been silenced and urging folks “to not neglect Gaza.”
The Sunday strike got here days after Israel authorized a plan to completely conquer Gaza Metropolis and relocate southward round 1 million Palestinians at the moment staying there, drawing worldwide outcry, together with from its closest allies.
Whereas Israel has repeatedly chastised worldwide media for counting on data popping out of Hamas-controlled Gaza, it has barred journalists from coming into the Strip for the reason that begin of the struggle, besides on occasional, tightly managed journeys with the navy.
