Anas al-Sharif, one of Al Jazeera’s correspondents in Gaza, was killed alongside four colleagues in an Israeli airstrike on Sunday. Hours before his death, the 28-year-old posted a video on X showing nearby Israeli strikes and describing “intense, concentrated Israeli bombardment” of Gaza City.In what he called his “will and final message,” al-Sharif left a deeply personal statement to be published if he was killed, beginning: “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.”In his post, he reflected on a lifetime in Jabalia refugee camp, saying he had “never once hesitated to convey the truth as it is” despite living through “pain in all its details” and witnessing repeated loss. He entrusted readers with “Palestine—the jewel in the crown of the Muslim world” and urged them not to let “chains silence you, nor borders restrain you.”He spoke of his longing to return to his family’s original town of occupied Asqalan, and left heartfelt words for his mother, wife Bayan, and his young children Sham and Salah, whom he would never see grow up. “If I die, I die steadfast upon my principles,” he wrote. “Do not forget Gaza… And do not forget me in your sincere prayers.”According to Al Jazeera, the strike hit a tent housing journalists outside a hospital gate in Gaza City, killing al-Sharif along with Mohammed Qreiqeh and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa. The Israeli military admitted targeting him, calling him a “terrorist” and accusing him of leading a Hamas cell responsible for rocket attacks—claims his colleagues and press freedom groups reject. The Committee to Protect Journalists said it was “appalled” by the deaths, accusing Israel of a “pattern of labelling journalists as militants without providing credible evidence.”Al-Sharif had been repeatedly targeted online by Israeli military spokespeople in recent months, with the CPJ previously urging protection for him. His killing comes amid what media watchdogs describe as unprecedented losses for the press in Gaza, with more than 200 journalists reported killed since the war began 22 months ago. As Israel signals an expansion of military operations in the territory, UN officials have warned the Security Council of “another calamity” that could bring further death, destruction, and displacement for Gaza’s two million residents.

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