On Wednesday, Israel issued a clear threat to six journalists who are among the only journalists left documenting atrocities in north Gaza as Israel carries out its extermination and ethnic cleansing campaign against hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the region.
In a post on X, the Israeli military accused six Al Jazeera journalists of being affiliated with “Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist” groups without any evidence, referring to documents showing “proof” of these claims without posting any of the said documents.
Israel has repeatedly accused Palestinian aid workers, journalists and medical workers of being affiliated with Hamas, without any evidence, throughout its genocide — including to justify starving the entire population of Gaza. Considering Israel’s practice of targeting and killing journalists, particularly those who work for Al Jazeera, the post is a transparent death threat against those named.
The journalists accused by Israel are Anas al-Sharif, Talal Aruki, Alaa Salama, Hossam Shabat, Ismail Farid and Ashraf Saraj.
Shabat said that the claims are part of Israel’s “systematic propaganda campaign” and pledged to continue to document Israel’s genocide no matter the threats laid against him.
“Israel’s army has released fabricated dossiers framing us, the last remaining journalists in North Gaza reporting on Israel’s extermination and ethnic-cleansing campaign, as ‘terrorists,’” said Shabat. “This blatant and belligerent attempt to transform us, the last witnesses in the north, into killable targets is an assassination threat and obvious attempt to preemptively justify our murder.”
In a statement, Al Jazeera Media Network categorically rejected the claims, and condemned Israel’s threats. The genocide has resulted in the highest journalist death toll of any conflict in decades, with the Israeli military killing at least 140 journalists and media workers over the past year, and potentially far more.
In July, Israeli forces killed two Al Jazeera journalists who were some of the most prolific in north Gaza, Ismail al-Ghoul and Rami al-Rifi. Shabat noted that, after Israel killed al-Ghoul, Israeli officials claimed to release documentation of the journalist receiving a military ranking from Hamas in 2007, when he was only 10 years old.
“The Network views these fabricated accusations as a blatant attempt to silence the few remaining journalists in the region, thereby obscuring the harsh realities of the war from audiences worldwide,” the organization said in a statement. “These journalists have been steadfastly reporting from northern Gaza, with Al Jazeera being the sole international media presence documenting the unfolding humanitarian crisis resulting from Israel’s siege and bombardment of civilian populations.”
The targeting of journalists in north Gaza is especially alarming, as they provide some of the world’s only glimpses into Israel’s horrific siege.
Even amid the past year of genocide, Palestinians have said that Israel’s current campaign in north Gaza is the worst they’ve seen, as Israel executes families after ordering them to evacuate; rounds up people for slaughter or mass arrest; and deprives the entire population of food, water, and any form of medical intervention that could save their lives. Palestinians say that much of the horrors are not even being broadcast to the world because of communications blackouts and Israel’s killings of journalists.
The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the threat, also noting Israel’s post-mortem accusation against al-Ghoul.
“Israel has repeatedly made similar unproven claims without producing credible evidence,” the group said.
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