Hamas says killing of journalists aims to silence Gaza ahead of wider massacre

Hamas has accused the Israeli army of committing “a brutal crime that goes beyond all limits of fascism and criminality” after an Israeli airstrike hit a journalist’s tent in the courtyard of al-Shifa Hospital in western Gaza City, killing five media workers, including Al Jazeera correspondents Anas Al Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh.

In a statement on Sunday, the movement said the attack by Israeli warplanes also killed photographers Ibrahim Zaher and Moamen Eliwa, and camera assistant Mohammed Noufal. Hamas described it as “the widest targeting of journalists witnessed anywhere in the world during any war”, adding that the death toll of journalists in Gaza since the war began has risen to 232.

Hamas stressed that Al Sharif was “an example of the free journalist who exposed to the world the crime of starvation and famine imposed by the Israeli occupation”, noting that previous threats were made by Israeli military spokesmen against several journalists, including Al Sharif and Qreiqeh, to deter them from revealing the truth. 

The movement said, “the assassination of journalists and the preparation of the media scene for silence is an indication of the occupation’s intention to carry out a major massacre in Gaza away from the eyes of the world”. Hamas called on journalists and media professionals worldwide to “respond widely to expose the occupation and its crimes”.

READ: Israel kills Al Jazeera news team near Shifa Hospital in Gaza