IDF defends targeting of Al Jazeera journalist, claims some others killed were also terrorists

The military says it took “many measures” to mitigate civilian harm in a strike on Sunday that killed prominent Al Jazeera reporter Anas al-Sharif — who has been accused by Israel of being an active Hamas terrorist — alongside five other journalists.

Al Jazeera said the strike killed its correspondents Sharif and Mohammed Qraiqea, along with cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Moamen Aliwa, and Mohammed Noufal. Freelancer Mohammad al-Khaldi was also with the group and lost his life in the strike.

In response to a query by The Times of Israel as to why the IDF chose to target him when he was with five other journalists in a tent near Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital, the military issues the following response:

“On Sunday, the IDF struck a terrorist from the Hamas terror organization in the northern Gaza Strip. Prior to the strike, many measures were taken to reduce the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence information.”

“Terror organizations in the Strip systematically violate international law, cruelly exploiting civilian institutions and the population as human shields for terror activities,” the army adds.

A military source tells The Times of Israel that, in addition to Sharif, the strike targeted several other “incriminated terrorists,” meaning verified members of terror groups.

The source does not elaborate on how many of the five other journalists were also allegedly terror operatives, or which of them were.