CPJ calls for Al Jazeera correspondent's protection in face of Israeli smears
JournalismPakistan.com | Published 5 months ago | Committee to Protect Journalists
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NEW YORK—The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely worried about the safety of Al Jazeera Arabic’s Gaza correspondent Anas Al-Sharif, who is being targeted by an Israeli military smear campaign, which he believes is a precursor to his assassination.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee has stepped up his online attacks on Al-Sharif, by falsely alleging that he is a Hamas terrorist, since the journalist cried on air while reporting on starvation in Gaza. The 28-year-old journalist has been a key source of news from Gaza for international audiences since the war began more than 650 days ago.
“We are deeply alarmed by the repeated threats made by Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee against Al Jazeera’s Gaza correspondent Anas Al-Sharif and call on the international community to protect him,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “This is not the first time Al-Sharif has been targeted by the Israeli military, but the danger to his life is now acute. Israel has killed at least six Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza during this war. These latest unfounded accusations represent an effort to manufacture consent to kill Al-Sharif.”
The IDF have made unsubstantiated claims that many of the journalists they deliberately killed in Gaza were terrorists, including four Al Jazeera staff — Hamza Al Dahdouh, Ismail Al Ghoul, Rami Al Refee, and Hossam Shabat. CPJ classifies such cases as murder.
Shabat was one of six Al Jazeera journalists that the IDF accused in October 2024 of involvement with Hamas or Islamic Jihad militant groups, a claim that the Qatari-based channel rejected as “baseless.” Shabat was later killed and Talal Al Arrouqi was injured.
Two other Al Jazeera staff journalists – Samer Abu Daqqa and Ahmed Al-Louh — have been killed during the Israel-Gaza war, as well as eight journalists and media workers who freelanced for the channel, according to CPJ data.
‘Real-life threat’
“Adraee’s campaign is not only a media threat or an image destruction; it is a real-life threat,” Al-Sharif told CPJ. “All of this is happening because my coverage of the crimes of the Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip harms them and damages their image in the world. They accuse me of being a terrorist because the occupation wants to assassinate me morally.”
Israel is coming under increasing pressure to stop shooting Palestinians at aid distribution points and allow more food in, amid global alarm over reports of deaths from hunger and images of emaciated children.
In a July 24 video, Adraee accused Al-Sharif of being a member of Hamas’ military wing, Al-Qassam, since 2013 and moving during the war “to work for the most criminal and offensive channel.”
In a July 23 video, Adraee described Al Jazeera’s reporting on starving Palestinians as “a fabricated drama starring Anas Al-Sharif, who sheds crocodile tears,” while playing a clip of the journalist crying while reporting on July 20.
In a July 20 video, Adraee played the same footage of Al-Sharif crying and accused him of “propaganda” and being part of a “false Hamas campaign on starvation.”
On July 12, responding to Al Sharif’s post calling for a ceasefire, Adraee described the journalist as “a mouthpiece for intellectual terrorism.”
‘My family is also in danger’
“I live with the feeling that I could be bombed and martyred at any moment. My family is also in danger, and I have already paid the price before,” Al-Sharif told CPJ.
In December 2023, Al-Sharif’s 90-year-old father was killed by an Israeli airstrike on their family home, weeks after the journalist received multiple telephone threats from Israeli army officers instructing him to cease coverage and leave northern Gaza.
In August 2024, Adraee accused Al-Sharif of “presenting a lie” in his coverage of an Israeli airstrike on a school that killed dozens of displaced Palestinians.
“This feeling is difficult and painful, but it does not push me back. Rather, it motivates me to continue fulfilling my duty and conveying the suffering of our people, even if it costs me my life,” said Al-Sharif.
Israel has banned Al Jazeera from operating inside the country and in the West Bank.
“These threats constitute clear incitement and an attempt to assassinate my voice, either through bombing or moral distortion. However, I will not stop conveying the truth,” Al-Sharif said.
In response to CPJ’s email query, the IDF’s North America Media desk referred CPJ to Adraee’s July 24 video.
Photo caption: Al Jazeera Arabic's Gaza correspondent Anas Al-Sharif has been called a terrorist multiple times by an Israeli army spokesperson after the journalist tried reporting on starvation in Gaza. (Photo courtesy of Anas Al-Sharif)
