Overview

• Israel launched an airstrike on August 10 that killed six journalists, including Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif, prompting condemnation from the European Union
• The Israel Defence Forces alleged that al-Sharif led a Hamas rocket unit while posing as a reporter, an assertion that press freedom advocates say lacks credible evidence
• Brown University’s Watson School published a report in April estimating that 232 journalists have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, making the conflict second only to Iraq in war-time press fatalities
• Critics have questioned the study’s reliance on a Freedom Forum memorial for World War II figures and its inclusion of individuals with minimal journalistic credentials
• Prominent journalists such as BBC world affairs editor John Simpson have been criticized for amplifying the contested data, while coalitions of over 200 news leaders demand unfettered access for independent reporting in Gaza