Four Al Jazeera journalists killed in Israeli strike near al-Shifa hospital

Throughout the war, Israel has not allowed international journalists into Gaza to report freely. Therefore, many outlets rely on local reporters within the territory for coverage.

“They were targeted in their tent, they weren’t covering from the front line,” Moawad said of the Israeli strike.

“The fact is that the Israeli government is wanting to silence the coverage of any channel of reporting from inside Gaza,” he told The Newsroom programme.

“This is something that I haven’t seen before in modern history.”

The director of Al Jazeera English, Salah Negm, told BBC’s Newsday programme that Al Jazeera knows the background and training of its journalists, and knows “the product they’re giving us, and we examine it from several sources, including what you’re reporting on the BBC”.

Sharif, 28, appeared to be posting on X in the moments before his death, warning of intense Israeli bombardment within Gaza City. A post that was published after he was reported to have died appears to have been pre-written and published by a friend.

In two graphic videos of the aftermath of the strike, which have been confirmed by BBC Verify, men can be seen carrying the bodies of those who were killed.

Some shout out Qreiqeh’s name, and a man wearing a media vest says that one of the bodies is that of Sharif.

In total, seven people died in the strike, Al Jazeera said. The broadcaster earlier said five of its journalists were killed but revised it to four on Tuesday.

Moamen Aliwa was a freelance cameraman also killed in the strike, Al Jazeera said.

Medics at al-Shifa Hospital told Reuters on Monday that local freelance reporter Mohammad Al-Khaldi had also died in the attack, raising the number of journalists killed in the same strike to six.

Last month, the Al Jazeera Media Network – along with the United Nations, external and the CPJ, external – issued separate statements warning that Sharif’s life was in danger and calling for his protection.

IDF spokesperson Avichai Adraee posted a video in July of Sharif on X and accused him of being a member of Hamas’ military wing.

Irene Khan, a UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression, called it “an unsubstantiated claim” and a “blatant assault on journalists”.

At the time, external, she said there was “growing evidence that journalists in Gaza have been targeted and killed by the Israeli army on the basis of unsubstantiated claims that they were Hamas terrorists”.