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SvennoJ on 11 August 2025
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Press freedom in Gaza under ‘massive threat’

Martin Roux, head of the Crisis Desk at Reporters Without Borders (RSF), says the latest deadly attacks on journalists in Gaza highlight the extent of the Israeli army’s impunity.

“What we witnessed last night with this targeted strike against Anas al-Sharif that also killed five other journalists is something we have seen on July 31, 2024 – when Israeli forces killed Al Jazeera’s Ismail al-Ghoul and his cameraman Rami al-Rifi,” Roux told Al Jazeera.

Israeli forces used “the exact same tactic, starting with a smear campaign against the journalists, to then justify their murder”, he said.

“We’ve reached a point to where press freedom in Gaza is under massive threat,” Roux added, describing as “horrific” the total number of media workers killed in the territory. According to Shireen.ps, a database compiled by Palestinian journalists, at least 269 journalists and media workers have been killed by Israeli attacks since the start of the war.

RSF has urged the United Nations Security Council to hold an emergency session on the matter, Roux said, to find ways to hold Israel accountable and protect Palestinian journalists from further killings.


UNRWA chief accuses Israel of silencing Gaza’s journalists

Philippe Lazzarini has condemned Israel’s repeated targeting of journalists in Gaza, saying the army continues to “silence voices reporting atrocities” from Gaza.

In a statement, the commissioner general of UNRWA said he is “horrified” by the killing of another five journalists in Gaza City, including Al Jazeera’s correspondent Anas al-Sharif.

He noted that more than 200 Palestinian journalists have been killed with total impunity since Israel’s assault on Gaza began, underscoring the absence of accountability.

Lazzarini also denounced Israel’s longstanding ban on the entry of international journalists, about 22 months in effect, and said international media “must get into Gaza” to support the “heroic work” of Palestinian journalists.


‘I am scared for my dad’: Video of Anas al-Sharif’s daughter resurfaces after his killing

A video of Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif’s daughter has resurfaced following his assassination by Israeli forces.

The clip, which had been posted on al-Sharif’s X account on June 16, shows four-year-old Sham speaking from the northern Gaza Strip and is accompanied by the caption: “My little Sham Anas Al-Sharif’s message to the world, after 620 days of the war of extermination in Gaza: How can this small heart bear these heavy burdens?! Our children are the fruits of pain ripened by the war!”.

In the video, the girl says: “I am the child Sham Anas al-Sharif from the northern Gaza Strip. I am four years old. I have lived through the war.

“The occupation bombed us and bombed the houses. Netanyahu doesn’t want to stop the war. I wish I could go back to our home in Jabalia.

“The occupation bombed our house and killed my grandfather [Sidou]. I want to live like the children of the world. The occupation keeps bombing us.

“We want the war to end because we are tired. We want food. We want chicken. We want meat. We want water. We want everything. I am scared for my dad because of the bombing. We want the war to stop. We call on the world. End the war.”