Israel killing all the journalists is just like the mafia killing all the eye witnesses

Yesterday Israel murdered prominent Palestinian journalist Anas Al Sharif along with his entire Al Jazeera crew: correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa.

These brave journalists were wearing press vests when they were killed in a clearly marked media tent in Gaza. They were targeted precisely because they were doing journalism. This fact is self-evident because Israel has been systematically eliminating journalists in Gaza since 7 October 2023.

Israeli officials have repeatedly incited violence against Al Sharif, and the BBC and other western media outlets have disgustingly pushed Israel's propaganda.

Israel falsely claimed Al Sharif was somehow leading a Hamas cell while he spent 673 days of the genocide doing journalism. They even accused him of directing rocket attacks, which is interesting because when has Hamas ever had the ability to direct rockets? Its rockets are basically firecrackers that someone could make in a garden shed.

Israel's claims are so ludicrous they do not deserve an ounce of consideration and yet the BBC gave equal weight to the lies because who knows what the truth is? No one if you don't bother informing them.

The Committee to Protect Journalists had warned that the smears against Al Sharif could lead to his assassination and the BBC chose to amplify those smears after his death.

Appropriate context would be to point out Israel makes similar accusations every time it kills a journalist or doctor and it has killed a hugely disproportionate number of journalists and doctors. But the BBC does not give you such context because that would be biased towards the truth.

Thankfully, not all of the reporting has been dreadful. Western news presenters sometimes find a glimmer of a conscience, such as Stephen Nolan who read Al Sharif's words live on BBC 5 Live. This was a rare moment of the BBC humanising a Palestinian after his death.

It is finally dawning on western journalists that Israel has killed around 230 journalists and these deaths are not some unfortunate coincidence. I doubt there is a job in human history more dangerous than journalist in Gaza. There certainly can't be a job that requires more courage.

While western journalists have been terrified they might get in trouble for telling the truth, Palestinian journalists have been prepared to sacrifice their lives to bring us the truth.

The difference could not be more stark and yet we have been told the Palestinian journalists are not real journalists. Only western journalists are. It's a perfect example of how reality has been inverted during this genocide.

The brave Anas Al Sharif was known as the Voice of Gaza. He was a 28-year-old father of two who reported fearlessly on the starvation, bombing and displacement of his people. He knew his death was coming. He predicted it in this poignant post that he asked to be published on social media in the event of his death:

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 Jabalia 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 Jamal Al-Sharif 06.04.2025

As Ryan Grim pointed out, Israel likely chose to kill Al Sharif and his crew because it is about to occupy Gaza City and it needs to eliminate the journalists who would report the atrocities it is about to commit.

Understand that Israel assassinated Anas Al Sharif after approving the plan to invade Gaza City. They knew he would not leave the city and would cover the assault and killed him ahead of it. Let’s just be very clear here.

No matter how much pain Al Sharif endured, he continued with his mission to report the truth about Gaza. In December 2023, he was informed his father Jamal had been killed in Jabalia refugee camp while he was live on air. His daughter Sham pleaded for the war to end, knowing her father could be next.

Anas knew only occupation and violence his whole life, having been born in Jabalia refugee camp. He was just four-years-old when the second intifada began in 2000, 11 when the Gaza blockade began in 2007, 12 when Operation Cast Lead began in 2008, and 18 during the 2014 assault on Gaza. You don't get to do this to a child and call him a terrorist when he grows up to report the truth.

Al Sharif was so determined to report the truth, he would climb on rooftops in his desperation to find a signal. He reported how children would cry throughout the night from hunger and resort to eating insects during the day. Such reporting undermined Israel's despicable claim there is no hunger in Gaza.

Al Sharif and his colleagues had to be killed because nothing was going to deter them from reporting the truth, because the evidence they showed the world could be used to further incriminate Israel.

At no point in history have the people who kill journalists been the good guys. Israel is a mafia state and it is killing the eye witnesses to its crimes.

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