Hamas hostage videos silenced Israeli media’s talk of Gaza aid crisis
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Al Jazeera Journalists Killed While Stationed in Gaza City
Four Al Jazeera journalists were killed by an Israeli strike in Gaza City on Sunday. CNN reported that the Israeli military claimed the strike was aimed at Al-Sharif, who they alleged had a “military affiliation to Hamas” Al Jazeera denied those claims and, in a statement, said it condemned the “heinous crimes” More than 190 journalists and media workers have been killed since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began in 2023.
The network said correspondents Anas Al-Sharif and Mohammed Qraiqea, along with photographers Ibrahim Al Thaher and Mohamed Nofal, died in the strike, which took place while they were stationed opposite the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza.
CNN reported that the Israeli military confirmed the strike, which they claimed was aimed at taking out Al-Sharif, who they alleged had a “military affiliation to Hamas,” courtesy of documents they found in Gaza.
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However, Al Jazeera denied those claims and, in a statement, said it condemned the “heinous crimes and the ongoing attempts by Israeli authorities to silence the truth.” The media network added that it was calling on ” the international community and all relevant organizations to take decisive measures to halt this ongoing genocide and end the deliberate targeting of journalists.”
Committee to Protect Journalists regional director Sara Qudah also condemned the killings of the Al Jazeera journalists, saying, “Israel wiped out an entire news crew. It has made no claims that any of the other journalists were terrorists. That’s murder. Plain and simple.”
This is not the first time Al Jazeera journalists have died due to Israeli action while on duty in Gaza. In August 2024, Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Ismail Al-Ghoul and his cameraman, Rami Al-Rifi, were killed during an Israeli air attack on Gaza City.
Al Jazeera Media Network issued a statement in response to the killing of its journalists, saying it was a “targeted assassination” by Israeli forces and pledging to “pursue all legal actions to prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes.”
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CPJ noted that so far, more than 190 journalists and media workers have been killed since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began in 2023.
Also killed in the Sunday-night strike was Mohammad al-Khaldi, a local freelance reporter.
Ukraine makes small territorial gains in Sumy ahead of Trump-Putin summit
Ukraine has retaken two villages in its eastern region of Sumy, Kyiv’s military said. The small gains come as Russian forces have been pushing westward for months along sections of the 1,000-km (620-mile) frontline. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Kyiv and Moscow will both have to cede land to end the war in Ukraine. This week’s talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin will show whether the Kremlin leader is willing to make a deal.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Kyiv and Moscow will both have to cede land to end the war in Ukraine and this week’s talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin will show whether the Kremlin leader is willing to make a deal.
Ukraine’s forces have liberated the settlements of Stepne and Novokostiantynivka along the frontline in Sumy, the General Staff said in a Tuesday evening report.
“It’s tough. But we are holding back the enemy,” Ukraine’s top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, wrote on Facebook, following a meeting on Tuesday with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Ukraine’s top brass.
“In the Sumy direction, we are conducting active operations and have some success advancing forward, liberating Ukrainian land.”
Monday’s gains follow Sunday’s news that Kyiv’s military had retaken the village of Bezsalivka.
Reuters could not independently verify the reports of gains in the Sumy region.
The small gains come as Russian forces have been pushing westward for months along sections of the 1,000-km (620-mile) frontline, capturing new villages nearly on a daily basis, mainly in the Donetsk region.
Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, mounted a new offensive this year in Sumy, following Putin’s order to carve out a “buffer zone” there and threatening the regional capital.
Ukraine’s authoritative Deep State online map project shows that Russian forces control about 200 sq km (77 sq miles) of Sumy, and a total of about 114,000 square kilometres (44,000 sq miles) in Ukraine.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
Funeral held for five Al Jazeera journalists killed in Israeli strike in Gaza
Correspondents Anas Al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh, camera operators Ibrahim Zaher and Moamen Aliwa, and their assistant Mohammed Noufal, died after a strike on a tent near Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza. A sixth journalist – a freelancer called Mohammad al Khaldi – was also killed in the strike, medics said. Al Jazeera called the killing of its journalists a “targeted assassination” and described its employees as some of the “last remaining voices within Gaza” The Israeli military defended the attack, claiming the most prominent of the group, Sharif, was the head of a Hamas terrorist cell and only “posed as a journalist” The UN’s human rights office condemned the killings earlier on Monday, labelling the strike by Israel a “grave breach of international humanitarian law”
Correspondents Anas Al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh, camera operators Ibrahim Zaher and Moamen Aliwa, and their assistant Mohammed Noufal, died after a strike on a tent near Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza.
The Israeli military defended the attack, claiming the most prominent of the group, Sharif, was the head of a Hamas terrorist cell and only “posed as a journalist” – claims consistently denied by Sharif himself, Al Jazeera and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
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An IDF spokesperson added that he was paid by both Hamas and Al Jazeera and that it had only released a “small, declassified portion” of its intelligence.
A sixth journalist – a freelancer called Mohammad al Khaldi – was also killed in the strike, medics at the Al Shifa Hospital told Reuters.
Al Jazeera called the killing of its journalists a “targeted assassination” and described its employees as some of the “last remaining voices within Gaza”.
Read more:
Israel silences more crucial reporting voices from inside Gaza
Al Jazeera condemns ‘assassination’ of its journalists in Gaza
“Al Jazeera Media Network condemns in the strongest terms the targeted assassination of its correspondents… by the Israeli occupation forces in yet another blatant and premeditated attack on press freedom,” the broadcaster said.
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“This attack comes amid the catastrophic consequences of the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza, which has seen the relentless slaughter of civilians, forced starvation, and the obliteration of entire communities.
“The order to assassinate Anas Al-Sharif, one of Gaza’s bravest journalists, and his colleagues, is a desperate attempt to silence the voices exposing the impending seizure and occupation of Gaza.”
The United Nations (UN) secretary-general condemned the killing of the five journalists and called for it to be investigated.
A spokesperson said in a media briefing: “These latest killings highlight the extreme risks that journalists continue to face when covering this ongoing conflict.
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“The secretary-general calls for an independent, impartial investigation into these latest killings.”
He added that “at least” 242 journalists have been killed in Gaza since the war began.
The UN’s human rights office condemned the killings earlier on Monday, labelling the strike by Israel a “grave breach of international humanitarian law”.
The war began on 7 October in 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel and killed 1,200 people, taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli numbers.
Of the 50 hostages still in Gaza, Israeli authorities say 20 are still alive.
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Israel’s offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in Hamas-run Gaza.
It comes as prominent journalists across media organisations continue to join calls for access to Gaza, which Israel has forbidden throughout the war.
On Sunday, Palestinian envoy to the UN Riyad Mansour said Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should let the UN Security Council into Gaza.
“Take journalists with you so that you can verify exactly what is happening in Gaza,” he said.
For Trump administration, US air drops of Gaza aid were never a serious option, sources say
For Trump administration, US air drops of Gaza aid were never a serious option, sources say. One source said it is seen as an unrealistic option because airdrops would not come close to meeting the needs of 2.1 million Palestinians. Some U.S. officials war-gamed the option and found “it’s absolutely unrealistic,” said the source familiar with the matter. Israel began allowing food air drops in late July, as global concern mounted about the humanitarian toll in Gaza from the war. Trump has backed efforts by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to distribute aid to Gazans. But he has also expressed frustration with the ongoing conflict, saying Hamas leaders would now be “hunted down”, telling reporters on July 26: “Hamas really didn’t want to make a deal. I think they want to die. And it got to be to a point where you’re going to have to finish the job” The death toll from two years of war in Gaza nears 60,000, a growing number of people are dying from starvation and malnutrition.
During President Joe Biden’s administration, the U.S. military carried out waves of air drops of food into Gaza, delivering some 1,220 tons of assistance.
But the option hasn’t been seriously considered by Donald Trump’s administration, U.S. officials and other sources say, even as he voices concern over starvation in Gaza amid Israel’s nearly two-year-old military campaign against Hamas.
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One source said it is seen as an unrealistic option because airdrops would not come close to meeting the needs of 2.1 million Palestinians.
This comes even as close U.S. allies including Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Britain have carried out air drops of assistance to Gaza.
Humanitarian aid groups have long been critical of air drops of aid, calling them more symbolic than truly effective when the scale of the need in Gaza requires open land routes for large amounts of aid to enter the enclave. Story continues below Advertisement Remove Ad The heavy packages could also present a danger to civilians on the ground rushing toward the parachuting aid. Related stories Trump deploys National Guard to Washington DC: Can he legally do that?
Al Jazeera and Israel: How the broadcaster’s long-running tensions with governments escalated into…
Why Harvard may pay $500 million to settle with the Trump administration and restore federal funding “It just hasn’t been part of the discussions,” said one U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal Trump administration deliberations. A source familiar with the issue said: “It hasn’t been a serious consideration because it’s not really a serious option at this moment.” Story continues below Advertisement Remove Ad Some U.S. officials war-gamed the option and found “it’s absolutely unrealistic,” said the source familiar with the matter. The source said it was unknown how “big a lift capacity” could be managed even if the Israelis approved U.S. use of the airspace. A diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he was unaware of any U.S. interest in participating in the air drop effort. Another official in a U.S.-allied country which is taking part in the airdrops said there had been no conversations with the United States about Washington taking part in the effort. The official added that the United States was not providing logistical support for the airdrops being carried out by other countries. Asked for comment, a White House official said the administration was open to “creative solutions” to the issue. “President Trump has called for creative solutions ‘to help the Palestinians’ in Gaza. We welcome any effective effort that delivers food to Gazans and keeps it out of the hands of Hamas,” the White House official said. Israel began allowing food air drops in late July, as global concern mounted about the humanitarian toll in Gaza from the war. MOUNTING PRESSURE ON ISRAEL Trump has backed efforts by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to distribute aid to Gazans. He has said the U.S. would work with other countries to provide more humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza, including food and sanitation. But he has also expressed frustration with the ongoing conflict, saying Hamas leaders would now be “hunted down”, telling reporters on July 26: “Hamas really didn’t want to make a deal. I think they want to die. And it’s very bad. And it got to be to a point where you’re going to have to finish the job.” Israel faces intensifying international pressure over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and its promotion of GHF’s aid operation, which has distribution sites only in southern Gaza and has been called dangerous and ineffective by aid groups and the United Nations – claims the group denies. As the death toll from two years of war in Gaza nears 60,000, a growing number of people are dying from starvation and malnutrition, Gaza health authorities say, with images of starving children shocking the world and fueling international criticism of Israel over sharply worsening conditions. Biden faced enormous pressure from fellow Democrats to alleviate the humanitarian suffering in Gaza. In addition to aid drops of food assistance including ready-to-eat meals, Biden ordered the U.S. military to construct a temporary pier off Gaza for aid to be delivered to the enclave. The pier, announced by the former president during a televised address to Congress in March 2024, was a massive endeavor that took about 1,000 U.S. forces to execute. But bad weather and distribution challenges inside Gaza limited the effectiveness of what the U.S. military says was its biggest aid delivery effort ever in the Middle East. The pier was only operational for about 20 days and cost about $230 million.
Reuters
Hamas hostage videos silenced Israeli media’s talk of Gaza aid crisis
In late July, as images of starving Gazans stirred international outcry, some Israeli press and broadcasters began to carry reports on the worsening conditions there. Coverage has concentrated on the fate of the hostages and the casualties suffered by the Israeli army.
In late July, as images of starving Gazans stirred international outcry, some Israeli press and broadcasters began to carry reports on the worsening conditions there, urging a more robust aid response.
Yonit Levi, the main news anchor of Channel 12, branded the humanitarian crisis in Gaza a “moral failure” live on air, and the heads of some universities and the national Holocaust memorial appealed to the government to help hungry Gazans. Israeli media has largely focused during 22 months of war on the trauma and impact on Israelis of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, in which, according to Israeli tallies, some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage. Coverage has concentrated on the fate of the hostages and the casualties suffered by the Israeli army.