For the past almost 22 months, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu likes to note, Israel has been fighting a seven-front war.

Speaking to an Evangelical Christian audience in Jerusalem this week, Netanyahu added an eighth front — “the battle for truth.”

While it fights Iran, Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and groups in the West Bank, Syria and Iraq, Israel is also engaged in an information war — and on that battlefield, it is losing.

Major international news outlets have increasingly portrayed Israel as a heartless aggressor in Gaza, running front-page images of skeletal children suffering starvation in the Strip.

Evidence showing that some of them were misleading or staged has done little to repair Israel’s image.

On Monday alone, US President Donald Trump, his deputy JD Vance, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer all cited these viral images in their calls for drastic policy changes in Gaza.

Last week, 28 Western countries issued a joint statement insisting on an “unconditional ceasefire” in the territory, saying civilian suffering had “reached new depths” and condemning the “inhumane killing” of innocents.

Regardless of the veracity of these claims, the diplomatic and social fallout is clear. Among allies and in Brussels, punitive measures are being weighed, if not already carried out. A rising tide of European countries has in recent days announced their intention to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state or to consider doing so if Israel doesn’t end the war and meet other conditions.

While much of the backlash stems from Israeli policies themselves, the damage is compounded by ineffective and sometimes nonexistent public messaging.

Former and current officials in the Prime Minister’s Office, the Foreign Ministry, and the IDF’s Spokesperson’s Unit acknowledged to The Times of Israel that the breakdown results not only from hostile actors, a complex war zone and government policy, but also from internal dysfunction. Current officials, including spokespeople, all declined to speak on the record about the issue, a standard practice reflecting the state of media engagement among Israel’s powers that be.

Several cited unprecedented efforts at reform, but critics warn that without drastic changes, the damage will only continue to snowball.

A war without a general

Responsibility for coordinating Israel’s global messaging officially lies with the PMO’s Public Diplomacy Directorate.

For over a year, amid unprecedentedly brutal battles in both the military and diplomatic arenas, the directorate’s top post, head of public diplomacy, has remained vacant.

“Think about it,” said Gadi Ezra, who filled the number two role in the directorate under former premier Naftali Bennett. “We’ve been fighting a war for over 650 days with a [military] chief of staff — but we’re fighting a war of public perception without one.”

This is partly because “Israel still does not regard perception management as a core component of its national security doctrine,” Ezra added.

Asked about the PMO’s ostensible lack of prioritization, three officials with knowledge cited the fixation with Hebrew-language media over foreign outlets within Israel’s halls of power.

“Ninety percent of the communications of this country are still internally focused,” said one. “There is a view that the government’s legitimacy comes from Israel — not from London, Paris or Berlin.”

There is a view that the government’s legitimacy comes from Israel — not from London, Paris, or Berlin.

Most countries, unsurprisingly, prioritize domestic opinion over foreign attitudes. But most countries aren’t in Israel’s position.

The alarm bells predate the images of starvation in Gaza that suddenly went viral over the past two weeks. Speaking over a month ago, one official fretted that “gruesome, terrible pictures are being aired and doing havoc to our public opinion. But none of this is a relevant part of the Israeli discussion.”

In early June, as reports of deadly IDF shootings near aid sites run by the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began to gain international attention, Netanyahu privately called for “much more of Israel’s voices in international media — more interviews, more briefings,” according to one official.

But with no central authority and a semi-dismantled, understaffed Public Diplomacy Directorate, implementation remains fragmented.

“There is good interaction between bodies, but the fact that there is no Public Diplomacy Directorate leadership for a year now doesn’t help,” said a Foreign Ministry source.

At the start of the war, an ad hoc but adept lineup of spokespeople — Eylon Levy, Mark Regev, Tal Heinrich and Avi Hyman — was employed by the PMO to deliver Israel’s positions to foreign audiences.

“That has since been unraveled,” lamented Levy, who became something of a celebrity as government spokesperson from the war’s start until March of last year, when he was pushed out.

Levy, who now runs an independently funded “Citizen Spokespersons’ Office,” said the issue goes beyond airtime: “It’s about engaging journalists and giving them credible, timely information.”

He added that disagreements in Israeli society about how to both bring the hostages back and destroy Hamas make “presenting the national interest much more difficult, but there is absolutely a role for the Israeli public here.”

Israelis must also realize the implications, “if the mud-slinging campaign against Israel succeeds.” Were it to become “the baseline of common knowledge in Europe that Israel is committing genocide… do [Israelis] think they’re going to continue doing business with these countries? Do they think they’re going to be able to travel to these countries?”

Israelis might be starting to come to that realization. Over the last 10 days, Jews and Israelis abroad have been barred from vacation venues, violently attacked, and, earlier this year, even murdered by people shouting “Free Palestine.”

In terms of official reform, “if any change happens, it’s going to happen from [the Foreign Ministry.] It’s not going to come from the Prime Minister’s Office…I genuinely have no idea what they’re doing,” Levy said.

The Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to a request for an interview on the matter.

The IDF choke point

Messages about Israel’s wartime conduct depend largely on information coming from the IDF, the only Israeli body authorized to verify military activity inside Gaza.

“Israel’s public diplomacy machine has multiple players, and the most important player in terms of information is the IDF,” said one non-military official.

No official may release information about specific military actions without the IDF’s approval. Because this information can take hours to gather and approve, the army often becomes a chokepoint for official Israel in a media environment where narratives are often shaped faster than facts can be verified.

“If you don’t have the information, you can’t comment. When you have a picture or a quote saying 31 killed, and no one is countering it for hours, that becomes the narrative,” the official continued.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, responsible for the army’s media and public relations, has a media war room that coordinates real-time responses to operational events across the IDF.

“We’re able to receive information from all sources — from the Chief of Staff’s office, Southern Command, the divisions, the brigades. That’s how we handle it,” said a military official who declined to speak on record.

Another army official, also speaking anonymously, said that response time greatly depends on the circumstances. In more straightforward cases, the IDF can respond within minutes, but “many times, it takes hours to check, and by the time we have the answer, it’s not relevant anymore.”

Many times, it takes hours to check, and by the time we have the answer, it’s not relevant anymore.

Hamas manipulates the battlefield with this in mind, the official charged. Troops on the ground “frequently face cases referred to as ‘legitimacy traps’” — incidents in which Hamas uses civilian disguises or civilian infrastructure to create a misleading narrative. The terror group was also accused of using staged footage or even AI-generated images to shape perception.

Humanitarian aid sites are a case in point. Reported incidents of deadly IDF fire at and near chaotic Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution sites have mounted — some confirmed by the army as “warning fire.” The IDF generally disputes the alarmingly high casualty totals reported by Hamas-controlled authorities in the Strip as inflated, but is unable to provide counts of its own.

According to Israel, Hamas, threatened by the GHF’s efforts, actively fuels the disorder by inciting unrest, targeting aid workers and intimidating civilians.

By all accounts, troops have repeatedly opened fire when crowds of hungry Gazans come near to soldiers guarding areas where aid sites are located. The troops are focused more on tactical priorities, such as protecting themselves from what they perceive as danger, than on how the aftermath will look to the world.

“Troops don’t always realize they’re walking into a ‘legitimacy ambush,’” the official said. “In their mindset, everyone in front of them is trying to kill them.”

But reconstructing events — who was shot, whether it was justified — takes time, and “happens as troops continue to fight, not over coffee in Tel Aviv.”

No matter how dramatic a report, “the most important thing for us is to not lose credibility,” said the second official. “Our response to Hamas making up numbers is not to make up numbers ourselves.”

Still, the official insisted that the system is adapting. In the last two months, the IDF has employed additional training and manpower to more readily cope with media challenges, they said.

“There are teams assigned to specific topics — both in the Spokesperson’s Unit and on the ground,” including commanders trained to recognize which incidents are likely to make headlines and “assign manpower” accordingly, shaping everything from messaging to operational planning.

The official cited Israel’s public messaging during its war against Iran last month as a sign of improved military messaging.

“We planned ahead, prepared statements, brought intelligence,” they said, “and the world understood what we did and why… accordingly.”

In the Iran operation, Israel’s media engagement was proactive, allowing it to control the narrative, the official said. But in Gaza, by contrast, Israel is often being forced to answer claims put out by Hamas, placing it at a disadvantage.

“But we’re getting better,” they added.

In the early months of the war, the IDF had greater control of messaging, according to Maj. (res.) Doron Spielman, who was at the heart of the effort as an IDF spokesperson to the foreign media at the time.

“For the first six to eight months, the only people really speaking on a large scale were the IDF,” he said. “The Foreign Ministry was… pretty much nonexistent. They worked with diplomats, they worked with governors, they were behind the scenes, but from a public relations point of view, they were not at all involved for the first six months.”

The Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment on its initial wartime activity.

“We had diplomats in Sderot by October 9. They saw the horrors firsthand, and that helped justify Israel’s initial moves in Gaza,” Spielman added. “The first 100 days, militarily and in terms of coverage, were strong. [Former IDF spokesperson Daniel] Hagari spoke regularly, and we got good traction internationally.”

But by around 90 days into the war, Spielman’s impression was that interest in Israel’s version of events had already gone down.

“The press is no longer very much interested in what Israel has to say. They’re taking their cues from the field — from Gaza, from health services, from the Gaza Health Ministry — and very little from the IDF,” he said.

Part of the reliance on Gazan sources stems from the fact that Israel refuses to allow journalists into the Strip, whether Israeli or foreign, ceding the ground to Hamas-controlled authorities and Gaza-based stringers.

The army has conducted dozens of media tours inside the Strip, some for foreign press but mostly for Israeli reporters, though the highly curated and tightly controlled visits are a far cry from the type of independent access being pushed for.

“For a conflict of such global importance, not being able to enter Gaza this far into the war has made independent reporting extremely difficult,” said Foreign Press Association chairman Tania Kraemer, whose group is suing for access. “It is our job to be on the ground, even if it is dangerous, to report what we see, to investigate conflicting claims.”

Spielman said he sensed a broader decline in IDF efforts to take the press into Gaza, saying it was the cause of “big pushback” from the media.

Yet he added that “if we did take them in, I’m not so sure that it would help.”

The press is no longer very much interested in what Israel has to say.

A member of the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit responded that “dozens” of foreign journalists have been guided by the IDF in Gaza since January, though they would not specify how often the tours had taken place. They could not comment on whether there was any intention to allow foreign journalists into Gaza independently. The state has defended the ban as necessary to protect both journalists and troops.

Ultimately, though, military sources said the burden of explaining Israel’s actions to the world can’t fall on the army alone.

“The IDF Spokesperson deals with military messaging,” said one official, but broader image-building “is everyone’s responsibility. ”

Money in search of a plan

As Israel flounders in the war of perception, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar appears to be assuming the mantle no one else has claimed.

“The Foreign Ministry is the most appropriate tool for this job,” said one senior official in the ministry. “If we insist — and take responsibility — we can win the war of perception.”

In November, Sa’ar announced a NIS 545 million ($163 million) budget for the ministry’s public diplomacy efforts — later reduced to NIS 532 million ($159 million) — but officials noted that funds only reached the ministry in April, with just around NIS 60 million spent on the effort as of June.

“If you think about it, the budget is actually not a lot,” the senior official said. “It comes to less than NIS 50 million a month.”

Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel promised a forthcoming action plan in December, but her office declined repeated interview requests and did not provide written responses in recent weeks. The ministry did not provide a budget plan.

Long referred to as hasbara, a term used to denote both public relations and propaganda that has been freighted with negative baggage in recent years, the ministry now brands its approach as toda’a — which translates to “awareness” or “consciousness”— an apparent shift toward broader, more proactive messaging.

In separate conversations outlining the Foreign Ministry’s new strategy and “working principles,” two officials pointed to signs of progress, saying the ministry has “broken its own records” since January.

From January to early June, the ministry said it held more than 25 briefings and press conferences for the foreign press in Jerusalem, and continues to hold at least one briefing a week for the foreign press. This marks a sharp rise compared to the past two years: only four such press events were held in 2024, and none in 2023. In the digital space, the ministry launched around 20 campaigns and produced more than 300 videos, it said, claiming to have reached over 650 million impressions.

“It’s unprecedented — the numbers, the scope, the scale of our activity. It’s huge. We’re trying to be everywhere,” one official said. “Did we make the world’s concerns disappear? No. Is there a silver bullet? Probably not. But can we do everything possible? Absolutely. And we’ll keep growing it.”

A key part of the new strategy is the “media war room” — a monitoring system launched five months ago to track real-time coverage and sentiment across global and social platforms. The system operates on two levels. Its micro goal, officials said, is to flag content with major factual errors or missing Israeli voices, “marking it for handling.”

Its macro goal is to monitor broader narratives — how much space a topic occupies globally and how it’s framed — to help Israel’s message accordingly: “It’s not just about what we say — but when we say it.”

“It’s a tool that we’re still learning to work with, that we haven’t yet taken full advantage of,” the official added.

We knew we had to have the narrative ready the moment the planes began to fly.

Responding to criticism that the ministry’s approach is too reactive, the senior official insisted otherwise, saying, “Every day there are new initiatives.”

Delegations are a core part of the strategy, the official added. The ministry aims to bring 550 groups — including influencers and policymakers — to Israel by the end of 2025, and currently has 200 more delegations planned. It is also advancing civilian public diplomacy efforts, such as J50, a forum of 50 Jewish community leaders promoting cooperation and unified messaging. It is also working with influencers, believing that “messages are more effective when delivered by popular individuals rather than by the ministry.”

The ministry is also supporting “a number of projects” with Evangelical Christian communities worldwide, noting in a statement that “prominent leaders will arrive and significant events will be held with their participation.”

A key proof-of-concept for the ministry came last month during the Iran campaign. With only six staffers aware of the pending strike, the Foreign Ministry quietly prepared its messaging in advance.

“We knew we had to have the narrative ready the moment the planes began to fly,” said the senior official. According to data from the media war room, the campaign reached 20% engagement globally — up from the usual 2–3% — and unprecedented penetration of Persian-language audiences, 90% of which were in Iran.

Still, sources acknowledge the effort is in its early stages, and it continues to face resistance from a harsh media climate, bureaucratic lag, and shifting political priorities.

The limited weight of words

At Sunday’s event, Netanyahu railed against a campaign of lies targeting the Jewish state, one he says was largely initiated by Hamas.

Since October 7, the terror group has indeed weaponized the suffering of Gazans to inflame global opinion and restrict Israel’s freedom of action. Cloaked in the fog of war, where almost no source can claim credibility, the current media atmosphere best serves Hamas.

But against Hamas’ tactics, Israel’s public diplomacy machine remains fragmented, under-prioritized, and slow. “Where is the super-duper communication strategy, social media strategy? We’re light years away from that,” assessed one official with knowledge of the PMO’s work.

Emanuel Nahshon, a former Foreign Ministry spokesperson, ambassador to Brussels, and deputy head of Public Diplomacy, pointed out that even if that weren’t the case, the success of Israel’s messaging relies not only on its words, but its policies.

Nahshon, who resigned from the ministry last year as he “didn’t want to represent this government,” described the current state of public diplomacy as “catastrophic.”

There’s no political or diplomatic strategy — so professionals don’t know what message to promote.

“But the blame lies fair and square on the Israeli government,” he said. “There’s no political or diplomatic strategy — so professionals don’t know what message to promote.”

Beyond that, he argued, Israel misunderstands global perception and misuses communication tools. “Our enemies master short, visual messaging, while we rely on long explanations and blaming the other side.”

He called the system outdated: “All our spokespeople are middle-aged white men — I include myself. But you need young people to speak to young people.”

Nahshon outlined three conditions for effective public diplomacy, the first being “a fundamental narrative” — something that “Israel has lost.”

“In the early years, it was clear: a people returning home after 2,000 years, rebuilding a sovereign state while extending a hand in peace. Today, we no longer agree on what Israel’s story is — and if we cannot agree among ourselves, how can we convince anyone else?” he asked.

In addition, Israel needs a clear strategy and a functional structure. Without these foundations, he warned, “it won’t work — no matter how right you are.”

Within that challenge, Spielman argued that “Israel should not be setting its war goals based on international pressure.” Chasing foreign sympathy “never works” for Israel, and moments of strength come not from slick campaigns but from conviction. One such moment, he argued, came through Netanyahu’s blunt response last year when former US President Joe Biden threatened to withhold arms if the IDF invaded Rafah: “If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone. If we need to, we will fight with our fingernails.”

Levy saw the same moment as a symptom of failure, not strength, however. “There’s no reason we should have to fight with our fingernails,” he said. “We should have the best ammunition because we’ve persuaded our allies. But we haven’t even tried.”

One thing is certain, as the war grinds on and Israel’s legitimacy erodes in the eyes of its allies: This campaign isn’t being fought only in Gaza — and without political or national will, Israel cannot prevail on the eighth front.

Hamas has been inflating the toll of Palestinians it says have died of malnutrition, and most of those verified to have died had preexisting medical conditions, Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) claims.

COGAT says Israeli security officials and medical experts conducted a review of Hamas’s starvation claims in Gaza, saying it found that the terror group has conducted “an orchestrated campaign as part of a broader effort to discredit the State of Israel and achieve political gains.”

“The thorough review found a significant gap between the number of deaths attributed to malnutrition as reported by Hamas’s health ministry and the cases documented and published with full identifying details in the media and on social media,” COGAT says.

From the beginning of the war until June 2025, the Hamas-run health ministry reported 66 deaths due to alleged starvation. Then, in July 2025, over 133 such deaths were reported by the ministry.

“Despite the allegedly high death toll in July, Hamas’s health ministry did not release the identities of the deceased as it had done in the past,” COGAT charges.

The Defense Ministry body says that on July 19, Hamas announced 18 deaths from starvation, and on July 22, another 15. “However, an in-depth review of various platforms identified only a handful of actual cases. This discrepancy between the numerical reports and the individual publications raises doubts about their credibility,” it says.

“The case-by-case analysis of the published deaths shows that most of those allegedly dying from malnutrition had preexisting medical conditions that led to the deterioration of their health, unrelated to their nutritional status. It was also found that some had even received medical treatment in Israel before the war. This indicates that the documented cases do not represent the condition of the general population in the Gaza Strip but rather selectively present extreme cases involving preexisting illnesses,” COGAT claims.

COGAT notes that in recent weeks, images circulated online of an emaciated four-year-old, Abdullah Hani Muhammad Abu Zarqa, who was claimed to have been suffering from starvation. “A COGAT review found that he suffers from a genetic disease causing vitamin and mineral deficiencies, osteoporosis, and bone thinning, a hereditary illness that also affected other family members. It was further established that four months before the outbreak of the war, the child traveled with his mother, with Israeli approval, to receive medical treatment at Al-Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem,” the statement says.

Another case noted by COGAT is of 27-year-old Karam Khaled Mustafa al-Jamal, who was reported to have died from starvation. “The defense establishment determined that Karam had suffered since childhood from muscular dystrophy and partial paralysis, which caused swallowing difficulties. This was a longstanding medical condition unrelated to the general nutritional situation in Gaza,” COGAT says.

COGAT says that the review, “including by analyzing broader photographic evidence and other available intelligence, concluded that there are no signs of a widespread malnutrition phenomenon among the population in Gaza.”

“The Hamas terrorist organization cynically exploits tragic images and misuses them for a false and timed propaganda campaign aimed at generating pressure and creating negative public opinion against the State of Israel,” COGAT says, adding that it will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip, in cooperation with the international community, while rejecting allegations of famine in the Gaza Strip.”

COGAT does not release the full review to the public.

Countries and international organizations expressed alarm Monday over alleged repeated targeting of journalists in Gaza after an Israeli strike killed a prominent Palestinian journalist for Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera, whom the military has long accused of being a Hamas terrorist in charge of rocket launching.

Al Jazeera confirmed the death of Anas al-Sharif, 28, along with fellow journalist Mohammed Qreiqeh and videographers Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa in the strike, which it said targeted a tent near Shifa Hospital. An official at the hospital said two other people were also killed in the strike.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesperson said the premier is “gravely concerned” about the repeated targeting of journalists in Gaza.

“Reporters covering conflicts are afforded protection under international humanitarian law, and journalists must be able to report independently, without fear, and Israel must ensure journalists can carry out their work safely,” the spokesperson said.

Asked about the claim that one of the journalists was linked to Hamas, Starmer’s spokesperson said: “That should be investigated thoroughly and independently, but we are gravely concerned by the repeated targeting of journalists.”

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Following Gazan media reports about Sharif’s death, the IDF on Sunday confirmed carrying out a strike that killed him, saying he was a “terrorist operating under the guise of a journalist.”

“The terrorist Anas al-Sharif served as a cell leader in the Hamas terror organization and advanced plans for rocket fire against Israeli civilians and IDF forces,” the military said in a statement.

The IDF noted that in October, it published documents seized in Gaza that it said “unequivocally” confirmed Sharif’s “military affiliation with Hamas.”

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????STRUCK: Hamas terrorist Anas Al-Sharif, who posed as an Al Jazeera journalist Al-Sharif was the head of a Hamas terrorist cell and advanced rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and IDF troops.

Intelligence and documents from Gaza, including rosters, terrorist training lists and… pic.twitter.com/ypFaEYDHse — Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) August 10, 2025

At the time, the military said Sharif headed a rocket-launching squad and was a member of an elite Nukhba Force company in Hamas’s East Jabalia Battalion.

“These documents serve as proof of the terrorist’s integration into the Qatari Al Jazeera media network,” the IDF said.

Al Jazeera has fiercely denied Israel’s allegations and accused it of systematically targeting Al Jazeera employees in the Gaza Strip.

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Qatar’s prime minister also lambasted Israel for killing journalists working for its Al Jazeera network, describing the deaths as “crimes beyond imagination.”

“May God have mercy on journalists Anas Al-Sharif, Mohammed Qraiqea, and their colleagues,” Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said in a post on X.

The UN human rights agency called the killings a “grave breach of international humanitarian law.”

The office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said on X that “Israel must respect and protect all civilians, including journalists,” claiming that at least 242 Palestinian journalists have allegedly been killed in Gaza since the Hamas-led massacre of October 7, 2023, in southern Israel set off the war. Israel says Hamas fighters embed themselves in civilian life in Gaza and that it doesn’t target civilians or journalists.

“We call for immediate, safe and unhindered access to Gaza for all journalists,” Turk’s office said.

The Foreign Press Association said it was “outraged” by the killing, insisting that the “colleagues were carrying out their duty as journalists and reporting on events as they occurred.”

It dismissed Israel’s labeling of Palestinian journalists as terrorists “often without verifiable evidence, turning them into targets.”

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the “acknowledged murder by the Israeli army.”

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The press freedom campaign group told AFP he was “one of the most famous journalists from the Gaza Strip [and] the voice of the suffering Israel has imposed on Palestinians in Gaza.”

RSF called the Israeli allegations “baseless.”

“In [Sunday’s] deliberate attack, the Israeli army reproduced a known method already tested, notably against al-Jazeera journalists,” RSF said, pointing to the alleged killings of two reporters on July 31 last year.

Israel also labeled one of those men, Ismail al-Ghoul, a terrorist.

RSF called on other countries to intervene, saying the UN Security Council should meet to insist on the protection of journalists in conflict zones.

“Without strong action from the international community to stop the Israeli army… we’re likely to witness more such extrajudicial murders of media professionals,” the group said.

Media advocacy group the Committee to Protect Journalists joined in the criticism.

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“Journalists are civilians. They must never be targeted in war. And to do so is a war crime,” Jodie Ginsberg, chief executive of the Committee to Protect Journalists, told AFP.

Replying on X to a United Nations post responding to the attack that stated that “Journalists are #NotATarget,” the Foreign Ministry wrote: “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 added.

There was no reaction Monday from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

In an English-language tweet, Blue and White-National Unity party chairman Benny Gantz, of the opposition, defended the strike.

“Real journalists uphold strict ethical and professional standards — and are worthy of protection,” declared Gantz, an ex-IDF chief of staff and former defense minister.

“Hamas terrorists and their accomplices, including ‘journalists’ who on October 7 invaded Israel and gleefully filmed the slaughter — should be determinedly hunted and eliminated,” he argued.

A press freedom group and a UN expert previously warned that Sharif’s life was in danger due to his reporting from Gaza. UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan claimed last month that Israel’s allegations against him were unsubstantiated.

Al Jazeera called the attack that killed Sharif “a desperate attempt to silence voices exposing the Israeli occupation,” and described Sharif as “one of Gaza’s bravest journalists.”

Al Jazeera also said it followed “repeated incitement and calls by multiple Israeli officials and spokespersons to target the fearless journalist Anas al-Sharif and his colleagues.”

Meanwhile, Gazans gathered on Monday for the funeral of those killed in the strike, with dozens standing amid bombed-out buildings in the courtyard of Shifa Hospital to pay their respects.

The bodies, wrapped in white shrouds with their faces exposed, were carried through narrow alleys to their graves by mourners, including men wearing blue journalists’ flak jackets.

A posthumous message, written in April in case of his death, was published on his account on Monday morning, saying he had been silenced and urging people “not to forget Gaza.”

According to local journalists who knew him, Sharif had worked at the start of his career with a Hamas communication office, where his role was to publicize events organized by the terror group that has exercised total control over Gaza since 2007, after violently overthrowing the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority.

International reporters are prevented from traveling to Gaza by Israel, except on occasional, tightly controlled trips with the military.

The incident came days after Israel approved a plan to fully conquer Gaza City and relocate southward around 1 million Palestinians currently staying there, drawing international outcry, including from its closest allies.

Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques.

Israel and Al Jazeera have had a contentious relationship for years, with Israeli authorities banning the staunchly critical channel in the country last year and raiding its offices, accusing it of terror activity.

Qatar, which partly funds Al Jazeera, has hosted an office for the Hamas political leadership for years and been a frequent venue for indirect talks between Israel and the terror group.

Sam Sokol contributed to this report.

An Israeli military spokesperson asserted on Monday that the prominent Al Jazeera journalist it killed a day earlier was an active Hamas member who received a salary from the terror group, as the international outcry mounted over the Gaza City strike that also took the lives of five other reporters.

“Prior to the strike, we obtained current intelligence indicating that [Anas] al-Sharif was an active Hamas military wing operative at the time of his elimination. In addition, he received a salary from the Hamas terror group and terrorist supporters, Al-Jazeera, at the same time,” IDF international spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said.

The IDF said that Sharif was “the head of a Hamas terrorist cell and advanced rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and IDF troops.

“Intelligence and documents from Gaza, including rosters, terrorist training lists and salary records, prove he was a Hamas operative integrated into Al Jazeera,” it said, alongside a screenshot of relevant documents.

The documents, published by the IDF in October, showed that Sharif joined Hamas’s military wing on December 3, 2013, where he served as a commander of a rocket-launching squad in northern Gaza. The documents listed Sharif’s military ID number as 305342.

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On April 7, 2017, Sharif was wounded in his eye and suffered hearing loss during Hamas training, though he continued to remain in the organization on a $200 a month salary, according to the documents published by the military.

A separate, undated document showed that Sharif’s name was on the phone registry of the elite Nukhba Force company in Hamas’s East Jabalia Battalion. Terrorists of the Nukhba Force led the initial waves of attacks on southern Israel during the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught.

The military didn’t comment on the affiliation of the other five journalists who were killed in the strike on a tent near Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital, along with Sharif.

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Earlier Monday, the European Union joined the chorus of international condemnations of the strike, with the bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas calling on Israel to provide “clear evidence” of its claim regarding the affiliation of the journalists it targeted.

In his Monday post, Shoshani wrote that the documents the army published in October are “only a small, declassified portion of our intelligence on al-Sharif leading up to the strike.”

“This information was obtained during ground operations in Gaza at two separate locations,” he added.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an “independent and impartial investigation into these latest killings,” said UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

“At least 242 journalists have been killed in Gaza since the war began. Journalists and media workers must be respected, they must be protected, and they must be allowed to carry out their work freely, free from fear and free from harassment,” he added.

Countries and international organizations accused Israel of repeatedly targeting journalists after the Sunday strike. Al Jazeera said the attack 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.

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The IDF on Sunday confirmed carrying out a strike, saying Sharif was a “terrorist operating under the guise of a journalist.”

Al Jazeera has fiercely denied Israel’s allegations and accused it of systematically targeting Al Jazeera employees in the Gaza Strip.

A posthumous message, written in April in case of his death, was published on Sharif’s account on Monday morning, saying he had been silenced and urging people “not to forget Gaza.”

The Sunday strike came days after Israel approved a plan to fully conquer Gaza City and relocate southward around 1 million Palestinians currently staying there, drawing international outcry, including from its closest allies.

While Israel has repeatedly chastised international media for relying on information coming out of Hamas-controlled Gaza, it has barred journalists from entering the Strip since the start of the war, except on occasional, tightly controlled trips with the military.

Palestinians reported the heaviest bombardments in weeks on Monday in areas east of Gaza City, just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he expected to complete a new expanded offensive against Hamas “fairly quickly.”

An airstrike also killed six journalists, including prominent Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif, in a tent at Gaza City’s Al Shifa Hospital compound, the deadliest strike against journalists during an Israeli campaign that has lasted more than 22 months.

Witnesses said Israeli tanks and planes pounded Sabra, Zeitoun and Shejaia, three eastern suburbs of Gaza City in the north of the territory, on Monday, pushing many families westward from their homes.

Some Gaza City residents said it was one of the worst nights in weeks, raising fears of military preparations for a deeper offensive into their city, which Hamas says is now sheltering about a million people after the displacement of residents from the enclave’s northern edges.

WATCH | Netanyahu defends plan to take over Gaza City after global outcry: Netanyahu claims Gaza City takeover is fastest way to end war Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims escalating the war on Hamas is the fastest path to victory but says Israel is losing the information war. Protests continue to oppose his escalation in Gaza amid fears for hostages and civilians.

The Israeli military said its forces fired artillery at Hamas militants in the area. On Monday, there was no sign on the ground of forces moving deeper into Gaza City as part of the newly approved Israeli offensive, which is expected to take weeks to start, even as Netanyahu said it would get underway “fairly quickly.”

“It sounded like the war was restarting,” said Amr Salah, 25. “Tanks fired shells at houses, and several houses were hit, and the planes carried out what we call fire rings, whereby several missiles landed on some roads in eastern Gaza,” he told Reuters via a chat app.

The Israeli military said its forces on Sunday dismantled a launch site east of Gaza City, which Hamas used to fire rockets toward Israeli communities across the border.

Netanyahu on Sunday said he had instructed the Israeli military to speed up its plans for the new offensive.

“I want to end the war as quickly as possible, and that is why I have instructed the IDF [Israel Defence Forces] to shorten the schedule for seizing control of Gaza City,” he said.

Two officials who were at a security cabinet meeting on Thursday to approve the plan told Reuters that the evacuation of civilians from affected areas may only be completed by the start of October, giving time for a ceasefire deal to be pursued.

More hunger-related deaths reported

Netanyahu said the new offensive would focus on Gaza City, which he described as Hamas’s “capital of terrorism.” He also indicated that the coastal area of central Gaza may be next, saying Hamas militants have been pushed there, too.

The new plans have raised alarm abroad, with French President Emmanuel Macron saying on Monday they heralded “a disaster of unprecedented gravity” and “a move towards a never-ending war.”

On Friday, Germany, a key European ally, announced it would halt exports of military equipment to Israel that could be used in Gaza. Britain and other European allies urged Israel to reconsider its decision to escalate the Gaza military campaign.

Israel’s planned offensive coincides with worsening hunger in Gaza.

WATCH | Security cabinet approves military expansion plan in Gaza: Israel’s security cabinet approves plan to occupy Gaza City Israel’s security cabinet has approved a plan by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the military occupation of Gaza City, despite growing criticism at home and abroad.

On Monday, the territory’s Health Ministry said five more people had died of malnutrition and starvation in Gaza in the past 24 hours. That raised the number of deaths from such causes to 222, including 101 children, since the war began, the ministry said.

Israel says it has scaled up the entry of aid and commercial goods into Gaza in past weeks. Palestinian and UN officials say the aid is a fraction of what Gaza needs.

6 journalists killed in Israeli strike

Medics at Al-Shifa Hospital said the airstrike that killed Al Jazeera’s al-Sharif and four of his colleagues also killed local freelancer Mohammad al-Khaldi, raising the number of dead journalists from the strike to six.

“We know that this is a threatening message to the other journalists to stop covering here … but as journalists we will not stop [fulfilling] our responsibility. This is our duty,” Hassan Salmi told CBC News on Monday as hundreds of civilians and journalists gathered around their colleagues wrapped in white shrouds.

Al Jazeera journalist Hani Mahmoud said al-Sharif was “very loved by everyone” and known for his coverage on the ground.

“It was not a surprise to see a large crowd turning up for his funeral at the Al-Shifa hospital,” Mahmoud told CBC Radio’s As It Happens in a Monday interview.

WATCH | Funerals held in Gaza City Monday for the journalists killed: Journalists in Gaza pay tribute to colleagues killed in Israeli airstrike Funerals for the journalists killed in an Israeli airstrike were held in Gaza City on Monday outside Al Shifa hospital, with many people gathering around the bodies wrapped in white shrouds. Journalist Hassan Salmi accused Israel of sending a ‘threatening message’ to reporters in Gaza but said he would continue working because ‘we are the voice of the voiceless.’

Mahmoud said only a few hours before the targeted attack, he was working out of the makeshift tents outside Al-Shifa Hospital where other journalists would operate out of.

“I don’t feel safe. We just live minute by minute now,” Mahmoud said.

Israel confirmed it had targeted and killed al-Sharif, alleging he had headed a Hamas cell and was involved in rocket attacks against Israel.

Al Jazeera rejected the claim, and before his death, al-Sharif had also dismissed Israeli allegations that he had links to Hamas.

The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said 238 journalists have been killed in almost two years of war. The Committee to Protect Journalists said at least 192 journalists have been killed.

Australia to recognize Palestinian state

The latest bombardment comes as Australia joins other countries including France, Britain and Canada in announcing it will recognize a Palestinian state at next month’s United Nations General Assembly — a move that adds to international pressure on Israel amid the ongoing war.

“Australia will recognize the State of Palestine at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September, to contribute to international momentum towards a two-state solution, a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages,” Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement on Monday.

Albanese told reporters in Canberra that recognition would be predicated on commitments Australia received from the Palestinian Authority, including that Islamist militant group Hamas would have no involvement in any future state.

“A two-state solution is humanity’s best hope to break the cycle of violence in the Middle East and to bring an end to the conflict, suffering and starvation in Gaza,” Albanese said at a news conference.

Albanese said he spoke with Netanyahu on Thursday and told him a political solution was needed, not a military one.

Last week, Australia criticized Israel’s plan to take military control of Gaza, and Albanese said the decision to recognize a Palestinian state was “further compelled” by Netanyahu’s disregard of the international community’s calls and failure to comply with legal and ethical obligations in Gaza.

“The Netanyahu Government is extinguishing the prospect of a two-state solution by rapidly expanding illegal settlements, threatening annexation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and explicitly opposing any Palestinian state,” Albanese said in the joint statement with Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

Hamas-led fighters triggered the war in October 2023, when they stormed into Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, by Israeli tallies. About 50 hostages are still in Gaza, but only around 20 are thought to be alive.

More than 61,000 Palestinians have since been killed by Israel’s campaign, according to Gaza health officials. Most of Gaza’s population has been displaced multiple times and its residents are facing a humanitarian crisis, with swaths of the territory reduced to rubble.