Anas and Mohammed, journalists slain by Israel, remembered as role models

Late Sunday evening, Israel’s subject targeted Al Jazeera Arabic’s Gaza correspondents Anas al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh and 3 others, sidesplitting them successful a drone onslaught against their media structure astatine the gross of al-Shifa Hospital successful Gaza City.

The slain journalists had spent the past 22 months documenting the ongoing struggle and its interaction connected their community.

Al-Sharif, 28, and Qreiqeh, 33, are some survived by their wives and a babe lad and a girl.

Qreiqeh, who was an lone child, had mislaid his parent successful Gaza successful March 2024, erstwhile Israeli forces stormed al-Shifa Hospital. He searched for his parent for 2 weeks, yet uncovering her decomposing assemblage connected the stairs of the facility.

Witnesses said she was changeable and killed successful acold blood.

Despite the idiosyncratic grief and excruciating circumstances, some al-Sharif and Qreiqeh continued to papers Israel’s warfare successful Gaza, which is progressively being deemed a genocide by critics worldwide.

Al-Sharif’s past tweet connected X, posted minutes earlier helium was killed, warned that Israel’s latest program to invade Gaza risked muzzling Palestinian voices successful the besieged enclave.

“If this madness doesn’t end, Gaza volition beryllium reduced to ruins, its people’s voices silenced, their faces erased – and past volition retrieve you arsenic a soundless witnesser to a genocide that you chose not to stop,” helium posted.

A antheral successful Gaza holds of the property vest of slain Al Jazeera writer Anas al-Sharif aft helium was buried on with 4 of his colleagues. Al-Sharif was killed successful a targeted onslaught by Israel [unknown/Al Jazeera]

Sacrifice and courage

Like each Palestinians successful Gaza, al-Sharif and Qreiqeh were calved and raised nether Israeli occupation. For astir of their lives, Israel has imposed a afloat land, oversea and aerial blockade implicit the enclave, efficaciously turning it into what quality rights groups picture arsenic an open-air prison.

The siege affected each facet of Palestinian beingness – livelihoods, question and household connections and compelled al-Sharif and Qreiqeh to dedicate their lives to telling the satellite astir their people’s conflict nether Israel’s brutal occupation.

Al-Sharif studied media studies astatine Al-Aqsa University successful Gaza and was known for his reporting connected the Israeli subject run that began connected October 7, 2023, documenting its humanitarian and civilian impacts.

Yaser al-Banna, a Palestinian writer successful Gaza, said that erstwhile Israel ordered the full colonisation of 2.2 cardinal Palestinians to fly southbound – an enactment that apt amounts to a warfare transgression – al-Sharif stayed successful the northbound to papers the events and actions of the Israeli military.

“His beingness was successful information from Israeli strikes [at the clip successful the north]. But helium inactive went to the country of each Israeli blast to uncover Israel’s crime, conscionable 5 minutes aft it happened,” al-Banna told Al Jazeera.

Al-Banna added that helium had formed a beardown nonrecreational narration with Qreiqeh since past year.

At the time, al-Banna was successful confederate Gaza and Qreiqeh was successful the north, and they often traded contacts and exchanged accusation to amended screen the humanitarian interaction of Israel’s genocidal war.

“He ne'er waited a infinitesimal to assistance maine oregon to assistance anybody,” al-Banna said of Qreiqeh. “My content of Qreiqeh was that helium was ever diligent and calm.”

Colleagues and friends

In October 2024, Israel published unsubstantiated claims that al-Sharif was among six Palestinian journalists affiliated with a Hamas cell, which Al Jazeera has repeatedly denied.

Human rights groups, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), enactment that Israel often brands Palestinian journalists arsenic “terrorists” without providing proof.

From past on, al-Sharif knew his beingness was successful danger.

“All of this is happening due to the fact that my sum of the crimes of the Israeli concern successful the Gaza Strip harms them and damages their representation successful the world. They impeach maine of being a violent due to the fact that the concern wants to assassinate maine morally,” helium told CPJ successful July.

The Israeli threats made immoderate successful Gaza hesitant to springiness al-Sharif interviews retired of fearfulness that Israel could termination him and everyone astir him astatine immoderate moment.

Still, astir commended his bravery and continued to enactment him arsenic helium reported from the oculus of the storm. Al-Banna added that Qreiqeh continued to enactment with al-Sharif, contempt the risks.

They knew that they could some dice astatine immoderate clip from Israeli bombardment.

“The narration betwixt them was precise strong,” al-Banna said, acknowledging that astir radical knew al-Sharif would apt beryllium targeted.

“Journalists successful Gaza became person to al-Sharif. We accepted that we would each unrecorded unneurotic and past dice together,” al-Banna added.

Mohammed Qraiqea preparing to spell connected aerial for Al Jazeera [Unknown/Al Jazeer]

Carrying the torch

Speaking from Al Jazeera’s workplace successful Doha, Qatar, their workfellow Tamer Almisshal revealed that some al-Sharif and Qreiqeh were mentally and physically exhausted starring up to their deaths.

They hardly turned disconnected their phones due to the fact that Israel was sidesplitting truthful galore people, forcing them to study connected the extermination of their radical each waking moment, helium explained.

“These are journalists. These are relation models,” Almisshal said, holding backmost tears.

“I’m making a pledge, aft the decease of Anas: We volition proceed to dispersed their connection responsibly and with afloat professionalism,” helium added.

This is simply a sentiment shared by journalists crossed Gaza who are bearing the load of reporting connected Israel’s genocide alone.

Since October 7, Israel has banned the introduction of planetary reporters and killed astir 270 journalists and media workers successful Gaza.

Saleh Jafar, 28, is simply a Palestinian writer successful Gaza who is vowing to support the representation of his colleagues alive. He said Israel is targeting the media to halt the satellite from seeing its crimes successful Gaza.

“They can’t soundlessness the remainder of us. There are a cardinal much [voices successful Gaza] similar Anas, and determination are a cardinal much [voices] similar Mohammed.

“Our voices and footage volition proceed to beryllium [broadcast] successful the look of [Israeli] panic and threats.”