Israel: IDF must stop slandering Gaza’s journalists

The Israeli military has been slandering Gaza's journalists with unproven allegations of being terrorism accomplices, making them a target of attacks since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) reiterates its condemnation of Israel's strategy of criminalising journalists in Gaza, a strategy based on unfounded claims that put their lives at risk, and it calls on international bodies to protect Palestinian journalists.

Mourners and colleagues surround the body of Al-Jazeera Arabic journalist Ismail al-Ghoul, killed along with his cameraman Rami al-Refee in an Israeli strike during their coverage of Gaza's Al-Shati refugee camp in July 2024. Credit: Omar Al-Qattaa / AFP.

On 24 July, Avichai Adraee, the Israeli Army's Arabic language spokesperson, sharedon social media a video accusing Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent, Anas Al-Sharif, of being a member of Hamas' military wing. Al-Sharif has been reporting on the Gaza war since it began in October 2023, and he is now coveringthe deliberate starvation of Gazans.

This is not the first time that Al-Sharif has been the target of hateful attacks for doing his job. In November 2023, Israeli officers threatened the journalist and told him to stop reporting and to move to the south of the Gaza Strip.

The Qatari media network Al Jazeera denouncedon 25 July a smear campaign by the Israeli military against its journalists in Gaza, and particularly, against its correspondent Anas Al-Sharif. It considers Israel's incitement "a dangerous attempt to justify the targeting of journalists in the field".

Due to Israel's ban on foreign media, local reporters are the only ones bearing witness to Israel's atrocities in Gaza and they have become the target of hateful threats by the Israeli military. In October 2024, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) published the names and photos of six Al Jazeera journalists on social media and labelled them as "Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists". The IFJ strongly condemnedthose unproven allegations and called on technology platforms to take appropriate measures to remove any such hateful messages.

One of the six reporters accused by the IDF was Al Jazeera's contributor Hossam Shabat. He was killedin March 2025, when an Israeli airstrike hit his car in Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza.

IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: "According to Article 79 of the Geneva Convention, journalists in war zones must be treated as civilians and protected as such. We reiterate that the contravention of this article is a war crime, which can lead to the deliberate assassination of civilians, including journalists. Our colleague Anas Al-Sharif and all journalists in Gaza must be protected. The Israeli military must end its attacks on the press and stop threatening and attacking journalists."

If you want to help journalists and media workers in Gaza, please donate to the IFJ Safety Fund: here.