An Israeli strike in Gaza City late Sunday night killed six journalists, including four reporters from Al Jazeera, according to medical officials at Al-Shifa Hospital.

The Israeli military stated that they targeted Anas Al-Sharif, accusing him of leading a Hamas cell responsible for attacks on Israeli civilians and troops.

Another well-known Al Jazeera journalist, Mohammed Qreiqeh, was also killed in the attack, the network confirmed.

Al Jazeera condemned the strike, describing it as “a desperate attempt to silence voices ahead of the occupation of Gaza.”

In his final moments, Al-Sharif warned on social media that continued violence would reduce Gaza to ruins, erase its people’s voices, and leave history to remember the world as “silent witnesses to a genocide.”

Hospital director Dr. Mohammad Abu Salmiya said Al-Sharif was killed alongside other journalists while sheltering in a tent near the entrance of Al-Shifa Hospital. The strike resulted in at least seven deaths.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) accused Al-Sharif of coordinating rocket attacks against Israeli targets and said they had “unequivocal proof” of his ties to Hamas, releasing documents purportedly linking him to the group. Al-Sharif had denied these claims in a previous social media post, affirming his role strictly as a journalist reporting the truth amid a humanitarian crisis.

Media rights groups, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), had expressed grave concern for Al-Sharif’s safety. CPJ noted that since the start of the conflict nearly two years ago, 186 journalists have died in Israeli strikes.

The United Nations also condemned Israel’s accusations against Al-Sharif as “unfounded” and warned against targeting journalists.

Irene Khan, UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, recently expressed deep alarm over repeated threats against Al-Sharif, who was the last Al Jazeera journalist in northern Gaza.

Al-Sharif, married with two children, had prepared a final message urging others not to be silenced and to continue striving for freedom and dignity in their occupied homeland. His death underscores the immense dangers faced by journalists reporting from conflict zones.