Israeli Army Admits Killing Journalist Anas al-Sharif in Gaza, Accuses Him of Leading a Hamas Cell

The Israeli army has officially acknowledged that it killed Palestinian journalist Anas al-Sharif in an airstrike on Gaza City last Sunday. In a statement, the military made serious allegations against the journalist, accusing him of being a leader of a Hamas cell and responsible for launching rockets.

According to the detailed statement from the Israeli army, Anas al-Sharif was not merely a journalist but "a leader of a terrorist cell in the terrorist organization Hamas" and was "responsible for launching rockets at Israeli civilians and Israeli army forces." To support its claims, the army stated that it had found intelligence and numerous documents in the Gaza Strip that "confirm his military affiliation with Hamas."

The alleged documents, as per the statement, included "lists of names of individuals, lists of terrorist training courses, a phone directory, and salary documents for the terrorist," asserting that this evidence "provides conclusive proof that he was operating as a military terrorist in Hamas in the Gaza Strip." The army's statement also criticized Al Jazeera, claiming the network had attempted to "disavow his involvement in terrorist activities."

This admission comes amid separate reports from Palestinian television, which stated that the Israeli bombing of a tent in front of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City resulted in the deaths of five people, including four journalists. This discrepancy raises questions about the nature of the targeting and the accuracy of the information provided by the Israeli army regarding civilian and journalist casualties in the Strip.