Palestinian reporters have paid a terrible price in another horrific year for journalist killings | Jane Martinson

"In January this year, Anas al-Sharif was filmed being lifted into the air after taking off his helmet and flak jacket to celebrate a ceasefire that would prove all too temporary in Gaza. This summer, the Palestinian journalist broke down while reporting on starvation in his home town that is now a war zone. A bystander told him: Persist, Anas, you are our voice."

"His employer, Al Jazeera, insisted he restrict his reporting to the more protected al-Shifa hospital after his father and many colleagues were killed. In August, a few months short of his 29th birthday, al-Sharif and six others were killed in a direct attack on a media tent next to the hospital. In a posthumous post he said: If these words reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice."

Anas al-Sharif, a Palestinian journalist, celebrated a January ceasefire and later documented starvation in his hometown. He gained popularity in Gaza but faced online attacks and false accusations of being a Hamas terrorist as the Israel Defense Forces amplified targeting. International agencies warned of the danger to him. Al Jazeera required him to restrict reporting to al-Shifa hospital after his father and several colleagues were killed. In August, al-Sharif and six others died in a direct attack on a media tent adjacent to the hospital. Press freedom groups recorded dozens to over a hundred journalists killed in 2025, nearly half in Gaza, highlighting assaults on journalists' safety and tactics to discredit them.

Read at www.theguardian.com