Israeli killing of Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza draws more rebuke, UN chief urges fair probe

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has slammed the targeted killing of six Palestinian journalists in Gaza by Israeli forces and demanded an impartial investigation, as tributes and condemnation continue to pour in a day after the tragedy.

The six Al Jazeera journalists – Anas Al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, Moamed Aliwa and Mohammed Al-Khaldi – were killed after Israeli forces struck a tent that was housing journalists in Gaza City on Sunday.

"The Secretary-General condemns the killing of six Palestinian journalists in the Israeli strike in Gaza City on Aug 10. These latest killings highlight the extreme risks journalists continue to face when covering the ongoing war. The Secretary-General calls for an independent and impartial investigation into these latest killings," said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric at a news briefing in New York.

Dujjaric noted that at least 242 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza since the war began.

"The Secretary-General underscores that journalists and media workers must be respected and protected and allowed to carry out their work free from intimidation or harm," said the UN spokesperson.

Kaja Kallas, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, said the European Union condemns the killing of the Al Jazeera journalists as she called on Israel to facilitate greater humanitarian assistance to Gaza.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) also condemned the assassination of the journalists, calling the incident "a direct assault on press freedom, representing an apparent infringement of international legal frameworks that safeguard journalistic integrity and media operations".

In a statement published on Aug 12, the OIC also blamed Israel for "a series of systemic violations" against the media and its personnel, which it said is "part of its attempts to obscure the truth, cover up its daily crimes, and prevent them from reaching global public opinion".

"The OIC unequivocally holds Israel, as the occupying power, accountable for this egregious violation, necessitating thorough investigation and accountability measures. Furthermore, it urges pertinent international bodies to take swift action to cease the intentional and systematic targeting of journalists and media professionals within the Occupied Palestinian Territory," the OIC said.

The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, which is the union and industry advocate for Australia's creative professionals, also released a statement condemning the continued targeted killing of media workers in Gaza and "the baseless smearing of working journalists as terrorists".

"The targeting of journalists is a blatant attack on press freedom, and it is also a war crime. It must stop. The ban preventing the world's media from accessing the region and providing unfettered coverage of the worsening humanitarian crisis must stop," the group added.

PEN America, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the protection of free expression in the United States and worldwide through the advancement of literature and human rights, said the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza could amount to a "war crime".

"In what appears to be a targeted strike on a tent known to be used by the media, the Israeli government has committed an appalling act that may amount to a war crime," said Liesl Gerntholtz, managing director of the PEN and Barbey Freedom to Write Center at PEN America.

"This attack not only wiped out an entire team of journalists — at a time when there are fewer and fewer voices able to report from Gaza — but also took six more Palestinian lives in an onslaught that has already claimed thousands of lives," she added.

PEN America noted that Al-Sharif was previously part of a Reuters team which in 2024 won a Pulitzer Prize in the category of Breaking News Photography for coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.

Further, on Aug 5, UN Special Rapporteur for freedom of expression, Irene Khan, warned about repeated threats against Al-Sharif and the failure of the Israeli government to provide evidence to support their claims that Al-Sharif was a "terrorist or supporter of Hamas".

In a post on X, IDF International Spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani alleged that prior to the strike, they obtained intelligence indicating that Al-Sharif was an active Hamas military wing operative "at the time of his elimination".

He blamed the media for "ignoring information presented by us because al-Sharif has said he is not a terrorist".

Gerntholtz of PEN America noted: "The fact that Al-Sharif's family, friends and colleagues must now defend him from unsupported accusations rather than being able to mourn him and honor his legacy as a journalist adds to the disgraceful nature of this crime.

"The targeted killing of journalists is a war crime under international human rights law. PEN America unequivocally condemns the Israeli government's use of lethal force against journalists, and calls for an independent and impartial investigation into these killings".