Several media outlets carried headlines similar to this one from a major mainstream publication: “An Israeli airstrike kills a prominent Al Jazeera journalist.” Anas al-Sharif was killed by an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip along with four colleagues. This drew condemnation from the media and some Western governments, but a little investigation into al-Sharif shows he was not simply a journalist.
On October 7th, 2023, during Hamas’s massacre in Southern Israel, he wrote with glee: “Nine hours and the heroes are still conquering the country, killing and capturing. Oh Allah! How great you are!”
Meanwhile, images show him in a joyous embrace with former Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar. Israeli intelligence had compiled extensive evidence proving that al-Sharif was the commander of Hamas’s missile battalion in eastern Jabaliah, directly responsible for rocket fire on Israeli civilians and military forces.
“Prior to the strike, we obtained current intelligence indicating that [Anas] al-Sharif was an active Hamas military wing operative at the time of his elimination. In addition, he received a salary from the Hamas terror group and terrorist supporters, Al-Jazeera, at the same time,” IDF international spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said on X.
The IDF said that Sharif was “the head of a Hamas terrorist cell and advanced rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and IDF troops.
“Intelligence and documents from Gaza, including rosters, terrorist training lists and salary records, prove he was a Hamas operative integrated into Al Jazeera,” it said, alongside a screenshot of relevant documents.
The documents, published by the IDF in October, showed that Sharif joined Hamas’s military wing on December 3, 2013, where he served as a commander of a rocket-launching squad in northern Gaza. He was certified as the team commander on January 1st, 2019, according to the documents.
The documents also listed Sharif’s military ID number as 305342.
On April 7th, 2017, Sharif was wounded in his eye and suffered hearing loss during Hamas training, though he continued to remain in the organization on a $200 a month salary, according to a 2023 document published by the military.
A separate, undated document showed that Sharif’s name was on the internal phone registry of the elite Nukhba Force company in Hamas’s East Jabalia Battalion. A codename for Sharif is also listed in the directory. Terrorists of the Nukhba Force led the initial waves of attacks on southern Israel during the October 7th Hamas terrorist attacks.
Hamas’s tactics to turn the world against Israel
Hamas has embedded itself amongst the population of Gaza. For example, teachers were among the murderers who kidnapped and looted on October 7th, kindergartens are weapons storage depots, and aid workers are couriers for Hamas, so a “journalist” being a Hamas commander should come as no surprise. It is exactly how Hamas operates.
Sadly, the so-called activists of the world are more outraged by a terrorist being neutralized than emaciated Israeli hostages still trapped in Gaza or Jews being beaten in the streets of Montreal, Venice, and beyond. Hamas seems to have no more powerful and friendlier a PR arm than the mainstream media.
How the mainstream media reported Anas Al-Sharif”s death
| Media Outlet | Headline | ||
| BBC News | “Assassination of Anas Al-Sharif – military has not provided sufficient evidence” | ||
| CNN | “Anas Al-Sharif became the face of the war in Gaza… Then Israel killed him” | ||
| Channel 4 News | “Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif killed in Israeli airstrike on Gaza media tent” | ||
| Sky News | “Funeral held for five Al Jazeera journalists killed…” | ||
| Reuters | “Israel strike kills Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza” | ||
| The Guardian | “‘I risked everything’: remembering six media workers killed by Israel in Gaza” | ||
| Wall Street Journal | “Israel Killed Five Al Jazeera Journalists in Airstrike, Network Says” | ||
| The Times | “Five Al Jazeera journalists killed in targeted Israeli strike on Gaza” | ||
| AP News | “Israeli strikes kill journalists and aid-seekers…” | ||
| AP News (second) | “Israel targets and kills Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif in Gaza…” | ||
| Financial Times | “Israel kills prominent Al Jazeera reporter in Gaza” | ||
| Al Jazeera | “Global outrage grows after Israel kills Al Jazeera staff in Gaza” | ||
| The Mirror | BREAKING — Israel ‘kills Al Jazeera journalist’ … | ||
| ITV News | “UN condemns Israeli strike that killed five Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza (Israel confirmed it targeted and killed)” | ||
| The Sun | “Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif & four colleagues killed in Israeli strike …” | ||
| Channel 4 News (video report) | “This is a war crime”: Committee to Protect Journalists on killing of Anas al-Sharif | ||
| El País (op-ed) | “Israel asesina a los testigos en Gaza” (“Israel assassinates the witnesses in Gaza”) | ||
| The National (Scotland) | “Al Jazeera journalist and cameraman killed in Israeli attack on Gaza” – Reports that Israel’s air attack killed an Al Jazeera journalist and cameraman, labelled as a “targeted assassination” by the network. | ||
| The National (Scotland) | “As Israel kills journalists, why is Western media silent?” – Opinion piece condemning Israel’s “execution of Palestinian media workers,” including those from Al Jazeera. | ||
