Al Jazeera Holds Moment of Silence for Journalists Killed in Gaza Strike
August 11, 2025
Bangladesh Journalist Tuhin’s Family Presses Authorities with Urgent Seven-Point Demand After Killing
August 12, 2025
August 11, 2025 – Palestine –
An article by Index on Censorship powerfully frames Israel’s campaign in Gaza as a targeted effort to silence journalists, calling it not just a war on Palestinian media, but on press freedom everywhere. Journalist Youmna El Sayed emphasises that Anas al‑Sharif and his colleagues were killed “because they refused to be silenced,” documenting atrocities like starvation and bombardment that threatened powerful narratives.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s military operations in Gaza have claimed the lives of more than 260 Palestinian journalists and media workers, individuals armed with little more than their cameras and notebooks, not combat gear. They were deliberately targeted while shining light on human suffering, according to the Index on Censorship report.
This comes amid the deadliest period on record for journalists in any modern conflict zone. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) tallied 178 killed (176 Palestinians, 2 Israelis) as of June 12, 2025, while the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) reported 174 fatalities by early June. Palestinian sources report even higher figures, exceeding 220 by early July 2025.
The deaths of Anas al‑Sharif and his Al Jazeera colleagues are emblematic of a broader trend. Rather than being collateral casualties, they are part of a pattern of suppression aimed at those documenting conflict from the ground up. This systematic targeting erodes global journalism, undermines transparency, and constrains collective understanding of war’s human impact.
El Sayed’s reflection echoes a broader alarm among international media rights groups: the Gaza war is not just decimating journalists locally, but it sets a chilling precedent for press freedoms everywhere. As she notes, “they were not on the battlefield—they were the battlefield.” Their stories were truths Israel could not let survive.
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