News Editor John O'Connor discusses the escalating threats faced by journalists reporting from the frontlines in Gaza. As violence intensifies, press freedom becomes increasingly threatened.
As of the time of publication, more than 270 journalists and media workers have been killed since the October 7 attacks and Israel’s subsequent military offensive in Gaza. The vast majority of the journalists who have been killed are Palestinian reporters working on the ground, often under fire, with little to no protection as large segments of Gaza have been destroyed as the war has unfolded. The war in Gaza has revealed itself to be the deadliest conflict to cover for journalists.
On 10 August 2025, a media tent outside Al?Shifa Hospital was hit by an Israeli airstrike. Anas al-Sharif, a prominent and renowned Al Jazeera war correspondent and five more journalists were killed. Al Jazeera described the attack as a “targeted assassination” by Israel. Israel later confirmed that they did indeed target Sharif, whom the government labelled as a “terrorist” affiliated with Hamas, stating he “posed as a journalist,” and accused the journalist of heading a Hamas cell and of “advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and [Israeli] troops.” The Managing Director of Al Jazeera is currently calling for an independent review and investigation into the "killings" of journalists in Gaza by the Israeli military.
CPJ (Committee to Protect Journalists) Regional Director Sara Qudah announced that, “Israel is murdering the messengers,” in a recent press release. “Israel wiped out an entire news crew. It has made no claims that any of the other journalists were terrorists. That’s murder. Plain and simple.” Israeli governmental and military officials have since made similar claims as the one targeted towards Sharif after other journalists were killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza.
The next day crowds gathered for the funeral of Sharif and his colleagues, many of which were wearing blue press vests in tribute. Notably, many of the journalists who have lost their lives while covering the Israel-Hamas conflict are not foreign correspondents, but local individuals reporting from within and on their own community. These are journalists who lived the very stories they were telling, often reporting under fire, with no safe haven to retreat to as they were reporting from their home.
A similar attack followed on 25 August 2025 when Nasser Hospital in Gaza was hit by Israeli airstrikes. At least 20 people were killed in the strikes, including five journalists. Among the journalists killed were Al Jazeera’s Mohammad Salama, Reuters cameraman Hussam al-Masri, Mariam Abu Daqqa, a journalist working for Associated Press (AP), Ahmed Abu Aziz and Moaz Abu Taha. A medical professional who works at the Nasser Hospital believes that the journalists who were killed in the attack were also deliberately targeted.
As international pressure mounts, calls for transparency and independent investigations continue to gain momentum from organisations, media outlets and figures in the public eye. Many public figures such as Sally Rooney have made their thoughts known and called for aid for the population of Gaza but have been met with resistance. In Rooney’s case, her support for Palestinian aid drew criticism from UK officials, who criticized her ‘promotion’ of Hamas due to being proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the country. Responding in The Irish Times, Rooney wrote, “If this makes me a supporter of terror under UK law, so be it.”
Rooney’s stance reflects a growing movement for the war to end, the state of Palestine to be recognised, and for the attack of journalists and civilians to finally come to an end, as the war approaches its second year.