Journalists killed in Gaza, legitimization of the French media

By Sarra Grira, OrientXXI, 14 August 2025

Anas al-Sharif was 28. He was married, with two children – a little girl, Sham, who was known to everyone who followed him on social media because he was so crazy about her; and Salah, his little boy. Anas is dead. The al-Jazeera reporter, who became the channel’s chief correspondent in Gaza after Wael al-Dahdouh was evacuated, was deliberately killed by the Israeli army on Sunday, 10 August 2025. Four of his colleagues—Mohammed Qreiqaa, Ibrahim Zahir, Moamen Aaliwa, and their driver Mohammed Noufal—as well as another freelance journalist, Mohammed al-Khaldi, also died in the Israeli bombing of the journalists’ tent located next to al-Shifa Hospital.

This information should have been front-page news on Monday morning in all French newspapers and broadcast media. Along with the standing reminder that should precede every television news program and every article : Israel is barring journalists from around the world from entering Gaza and it is killing our colleagues on the ground there who are enabling us to know what is happening.

But that is the theory.

Israel’s narrative finds its place

“A ’terrorist’ says Israel, an ’assassination’ according to the Qatari channel.” Playing it down the middle. This is how these murders are reported in France’s leading morning news program (France Inter). The same story is repeated on France Info. In France2’s 8pm bulletin, the microphone is handed straight to Olivier Rafowicz, the spokesperson for the Israeli army. One year and ten months after the start of the genocidal war against Gaza, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing an international arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) and trials under way against Israeli soldiers with dual nationality in their second country, the Israeli narrative still has its place in the French media. And the solidarity of a profession known for its corporatism stops at the Arab borders of the Middle East.

The grim tally has become absurd and almost unreal: since April, there has been talk of “more than 200 journalists killed.” So many names have been added to the list since then. With the war in Gaza, Israel has been able to move from denial to assertion. Not so long ago, when its army targeted and killed journalists, Tel Aviv was content to wash its hands of the matter, feign incomprehension, and then, finally, promise to open an investigation. This is what happened when anotheral-Jazeera correspondent, Shirin Abu Akleh, was killed.

And the strategy has proven successful: it allows Palestinian accusations to be dismissed as hysterical and “without proof,” then, when the facts are too obvious, it can be claimed that an investigation has been launched—long enough for everyone to forget about the matter. However, in Gaza, and especially since October 8, 2023, Israel has claimed responsibility for these assassinations. All it takes is to assert—as it has done in the case of hospitals, schools, universities, and thousands of children killed—that there is a link with Hamas. As Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham points out on his Twitter account :

“After October 7, a group called the “legitimization cell” was set up within Israeli military intelligence (Aman). It was composed of intelligence agents tasked with finding information that would give “legitimacy” to the army’s actions in Gaza—Hamas’s failed attacks, use of human shields, exploitation of the civilian population. This cell’s main mission was to find Gazan journalists who could be presented in the media as Hamas members in disguise.”

Threatened by the Israeli army

And it works. Just hours after his assassination, photos of Anas al-Sharif— specially a selfie taken with Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar— began circulating on social media. In a WhatsApp group of dozens of journalists, mainly French, the photos were shared: “Have you seen these pictures ? What do you think ?” The images are relayed in a completely neutral manner. No assertions are made, only questions are asked. The sacrosanct “journalistic objectivity” is respected. The aim is simply to understand, to get as close to the truth as possible. Yet many correspondents in the Middle East keep photos of themselves with a “dictator” or a “terrorist” of whom they are not proud. A few months ago, we even saw a French journalist, Laurence Ferrari, smiling and posing with a war criminal wanted by international justice: Benjamin Netanyahu.

Anas al-Sharif knew he was in danger. Before he was killed, he had been threatened more than once, his home bombed, and his father killed in December 2023. On 24 July 2025, Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee posted a video on social media accusing him directly of being a member of the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, based on “documents found in Gaza.” The journalist denounced these accusations and asked his colleagues around the world to relay his message. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) sounded the alarm 1. Anas al-Sharif also repeatedly stated that he was not affiliated with any political organization. While his entire profession and all his compatriots are being targeted by a genocidal war, he still had to prove his innocence. But that was not enough.

No innocents in Gaza

The problem with the way many French journalists are covering the death of Anas Al-Sharif is not that they want to know more about him. The problem is the subtext : Ultimately, Anas Al-Sharif may not have been completely innocent. From there, his fate can be left to the discretion of the Israeli army. And to all those who believe that there are no innocent people in Gaza.

Translated from French by Martine Bulard and Jim Muir.

Disclaimer

Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of CEMAS Board.