From the Liveblog of
Monday, August 11, 2025
Foreign Ministry pushes back amid outcry over journalists killed in Gaza
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleNava Freiberg is The Times of Israel's deputy diplomatic correspondent.
Amid international condemnation over the IDF’s strike yesterday that killed Anas al-Sharif — a prominent Palestinian journalist for Al Jazeera whom the military has long accused of being a Hamas terrorist — the Foreign Ministry says that “terrorists with cameras are not journalists.”
Replying on X to a United Nations post in response to the attack stating that “Journalists are #NotATarget,” the ministry writes: “We agree — journalists are not a target. But jihadi terrorists with cameras are not journalists. They are terrorists.”
We agree — journalists are not a target.
But jihadi terrorists with cameras are not journalists. They are terrorists.
We will hunt the jihadists, not protect their cover.
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) August 11, 2025
“We will hunt the jihadists, not protect their cover,” the ministry adds.
Countries and international organizations, including the United Kingdom and the UN, expressed alarm over the strike, which reportedly killed four additional media personnel and two others, and accused Israel of repeatedly targeting journalists in Gaza.
The IDF said that al-Sharif headed a Hamas terrorist cell and helped advance rocket attacks against Israel.
The Times of Israel Community.