In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. -George Orwell
When exposing a crime is treated as committing a crime, you are being ruled by criminals. -Edward Snowden
For some reason, I felt the urge to message Anas al-Sharif on Friday evening (8 August). Maybe it was a premonition or just an urgent desire to express my support. “Greetings from Vietnam! How are you doing?” I wrote. Then, another one on Sunday night, Vietnam time: “Thank you from millions of us around the world for your good and courageous work,” followed by “Stay safe!” in Arabic. Two minutes later, at 19:48 ICT, he responded: “Thank you, thank you for this great support.” (I can hear his voice.) Little did I know that his life and the lives of six others, including his nephew, would be snuffed out at 23:22 local time, less than eight hours after his message, by a targeted Israeli airstrike.
The targeted nature of this mass murder was by design. It was Israel’s way of telling the world with its oversized hasbara megaphone that it can pick and choose whom to kill, how, and when. It could have used a missile that would have killed more people and inflicted more damage, but it didn’t. Its message was clear and unmistakable. If we want you dead, we can do it with precision and impunity. After the missile strike, the IOF bragged about it.
I followed Anas since the beginning of the genocide. He was my go-to journalist in Gaza for up-to-date and accurate information about what was happening there, mostly via Instagram. I admired him for his honest and fearless reporting. I always knew he was in danger but hoped for the best, prayed that he would somehow, by the grace of God, survive.
This “will and final message” was posted on his X and Instagram accounts a few hours after his assassination by the IOF. Scroll down for the original Arabic version. The X version has 14 million views as of this writing. Imagine having to write your “final words” at the age of 28? (Note: If you look at the comments in response to his X post, you’ll see that the Zio bots are out in full force. These are the hasbara foot soldiers and cowardly keyboard warriors doing Israel’s bidding, a country whose government lies like the rest of us breathe. On second thought, life is short, so don’t waste your precious time. And by all means, don’t feed the Zionist trolls. No dialogue with the devil!)
Related articles and videos:
Anas Al-Sharif With His Daughter, Sham – Downloaded from LinkedIn. Source in the video.
Rest in Peace, Anas al-Sharif (13.8.25) Video narrated by Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, Emmy-nominated journalist, actor, and producer committed to storytelling that challenges the status quo. Posted by Hind’s Call.
Anas al-Sharif Speaks with His Daughter Sham about Gaza (video)
The Guardian view on Anas al-Sharif and Gaza’s journalists: Israel is wiping out the witnesses (12.8.25) The Al Jazeera reporter is only the latest of many media workers to be killed. But silencing their voices won’t stem international outrage.
Anas al-Sharif Was My Friend. Here’s Why Israel Feared Him So Much. (12.8.25) I met Anas during an Israeli siege of a hospital. He grew to be my mentor — and my friend.
The BBC helped kill Anas al-Sharif. Its reporting will kill more journalists (12.8.25) The idea that Al-Sharif could throw in a few hours a day running a guerrilla operation under these conditions, while popping up on camera every few minutes to report on the latest slaughter in Gaza is so insane no one – least of all a major news organisation like the BBC – should be dignifying it with an ounce of credibility.
The Courage and Death of Anas al-Sharif (11.8.25) The Palestinian journalist’s life was devoted to truth and dignity, and his death lays bare Israel’s impunity in Gaza.
Anas raised his voice, but the world refused to listen (11.8.25) Anas al-Sharif was the voice of Gaza. He was an inspiration and a role model. His murder will not silence us.
‘I Entrust You with Palestine’: The Final Testament of Anas al-Sharif (11.8.25) Anas al-Sharif, killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza, left behind a powerful farewell message — his final testament to his people, his family, and the world.
Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif killed in Israeli attack in Gaza City (11.8.25) video
Israel assassinates ‘voice of Gaza,’ Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif (11.8.25) The Israeli army assassinated Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif and several of his colleagues on Sunday in a targeted airstrike on a journalists’ tent outside al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. The strike has effectively wiped out the entire staff of Al Jazeera in Gaza City, claiming the lives of one child and six journalists, including Al Jazeera correspondent Muhammad Qreiqeh.
CPJ calls for Anas al-Sharif’s protection in face of Israeli smears (24.7.25) The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee has stepped up his online attacks on al-Sharif, by falsely alleging that he is a Hamas terrorist, since the journalist cried on air while reporting on starvation in Gaza. The 28-year-old journalist has been a key source of news from Gaza for international audiences since the war began more than 650 days ago.
MAA: Anas received threats from the Israeli government via Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, the head of the Arab media division of the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, whose profile appears in the Reverse Canary Mission database. Here are his contact information and social media channels. Email: mar.avichay@gmail.com, Telephone: 03 6080518; 052 9454973 (Israel’s country code is +972), and Instagram X LinkedIn TikTok.
This is my will and my final message. If these words reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice. First, peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings.
Allah knows I gave every effort and all my strength to be a support and a voice for my people, ever since I opened my eyes to life in the alleys and streets of the Jabalia refugee camp. My hope was that Allah would extend my life so I could return with my family and loved ones to our original town of occupied Asqalan (Al-Majdal). But Allah’s will came first, and His decree is final. I have lived through pain in all its details, tasted suffering and loss many times, yet I never once hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification—so that Allah may bear witness against those who stayed silent, those who accepted our killing, those who choked our breath, and whose hearts were unmoved by the scattered remains of our children and women, doing nothing to stop the massacre that our people have faced for more than a year and a half.
I entrust you with Palestine—the jewel in the crown of the Muslim world, the heartbeat of every free person in this world. I entrust you with its people, with its wronged and innocent children who never had the time to dream or live in safety and peace. Their pure bodies were crushed under thousands of tons of Israeli bombs and missiles, torn apart and scattered across the walls.
I urge you not to let chains silence you, nor borders restrain you. Be bridges toward the liberation of the land and its people, until the sun of dignity and freedom rises over our stolen homeland. I entrust you to take care of my family. I entrust you with my beloved daughter Sham, the light of my eyes, whom I never got the chance to watch grow up as I had dreamed.
I entrust you with my dear son Salah, whom I had wished to support and accompany through life until he grew strong enough to carry my burden and continue the mission.
I entrust you with my beloved mother, whose blessed prayers brought me to where I am, whose supplications were my fortress and whose light guided my path. I pray that Allah grants her strength and rewards her on my behalf with the best of rewards.
I also entrust you with my lifelong companion, my beloved wife, Umm Salah (Bayan), from whom the war separated me for many long days and months. Yet she remained faithful to our bond, steadfast as the trunk of an olive tree that does not bend—patient, trusting in Allah, and carrying the responsibility in my absence with all her strength and faith.
I urge you to stand by them, to be their support after Allah Almighty. If I die, I die steadfast upon my principles. I testify before Allah that I am content with His decree, certain of meeting Him, and assured that what is with Allah is better and everlasting.
O Allah, accept me among the martyrs, forgive my past and future sins, and make my blood a light that illuminates the path of freedom for my people and my family. Forgive me if I have fallen short, and pray for me with mercy, for I kept my promise and never changed or betrayed it.
Do not forget Gaza… And do not forget me in your sincere prayers for forgiveness and acceptance.
Anas Jamal Al-Sharif (06.04.2025)
This is what our beloved Anas requested to be published upon his martyrdom.
MAA: May you rest in peace, dear Anas. We will never forget Gaza, you, your beloved wife Umm Salah (Bayan), or your dear children Sham and Salah. Israel may have succeeded in killing you and silencing your voice, but it will never succeed at burying the truth about its war crimes and crimes against humanity, its genocide, in Gaza. By elevating you to the status of martyr, Israel has amplified your voice, increase the number of followers, and made you immortal in the eyes, minds, and hearts of the world.
A spoken word piece based on Anas Al-Sharif’s will and final message:
إن وصلَتكم كلماتي هذه، فاعلموا أن إسرائيل قد نجحت في قتلي وإسكات صوتي.
بداية السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
يعلم الله أنني بذلت كل ما أملك من جهدٍ وقوة، لأكون سندًا وصوتًا لأبناء شعبي، مذ فتحت عيني على الحياة في أزقّة وحارات مخيّم جباليا للاجئين، وكان أملي أن يمدّ الله في عمري حتى أعود مع أهلي وأحبّتي إلى بلدتنا الأصلية عسقلان المحتلة “المجدل” لكن مشيئة الله كانت أسبق، وحكمه نافذ.
عشتُ الألم بكل تفاصيله، وذُقت الوجع والفقد مرارًا، ورغم ذلك لم أتوانَ يومًا عن نقل الحقيقة كما هي، بلا تزوير أو تحريف، عسى أن يكون الله شاهدًا على من سكتوا ومن قبلوا بقتلنا، ومن حاصروا أنفاسنا ولم تُحرّك أشلاء أطفالنا ونسائنا في قلوبهم ساكنًا ولم يُوقِفوا المذبحة التي يتعرّض لها شعبنا منذ أكثر من عام ونصف.
أوصيكم بفلسطين، درةَ تاجِ المسلمين، ونبضَ قلبِ كلِّ حرٍّ في هذا العالم.
أوصيكم بأهلها، وبأطفالها المظلومين الصغار، الذين لم يُمهلهم العُمرُ ليحلموا ويعيشوا في أمانٍ وسلام،
فقد سُحِقَت أجسادهم الطاهرة بآلاف الأطنان من القنابل والصواريخ الإسرائيلية، فتمزّقت، وتبعثرت أشلاؤهم على الجدران.
أوصيكم ألّا تُسكتكم القيود، ولا تُقعِدكم الحدود، وكونوا جسورًا نحو تحرير البلاد والعباد، حتى تشرق شمسُ الكرامة والحرية على بلادنا السليبة.
أُوصيكم بأهلي خيرًا،
أوصيكم بقُرّة عيني، ابنتي الحبيبة شام، التي لم تسعفني الأيّام لأراها تكبر كما كنتُ أحلم.
وأوصيكم بابني الغالي صلاح، الذي تمنيت أن أكون له عونًا ورفيق دربٍ حتى يشتدّ عوده، فيحمل عني الهمّ، ويُكمل الرسالة.
أوصيكم بوالدتي الحبيبة، التي ببركة دعائها وصلتُ لما وصلت إليه، وكانت دعواتها حصني، ونورها طريقي.
أدعو الله أن يُربط على قلبها، ويجزيها عنّي خير الجزاء.
وأوصيكم كذلك برفيقة العمر، زوجتي الحبيبة أم صلاح بيان، التي فرّقتنا الحرب لأيامٍ وشهورٍ طويلة، لكنها بقيت على العهد، ثابتة كجذع زيتونة لا ينحني، صابرة محتسبة، حملت الأمانة في غيابي بكلّ قوّة وإيمان.
أوصيكم أن تلتفوا حولهم، وأن تكونوا لهم سندًا بعد الله عز وجل.
إن متُّ، فإنني أموت ثابتًا على المبدأ، وأُشهد الله أني راضٍ بقضائه، مؤمنٌ بلقائه، ومتيقّن أن ما عند الله خيرٌ وأبقى.
اللهم تقبّلني في الشهداء، واغفر لي ما تقدّم من ذنبي وما تأخّر، واجعل دمي نورًا يُضيء درب الحرية لشعبي وأهلي.
سامحوني إن قصّرت، وادعوا لي بالرحمة، فإني مضيتُ على العهد، ولم أُغيّر ولم أُبدّل.
لا تنسوا غزة…
ولا تنسوني من صالح دعائكم بالمغفرة والقبول.
أنس جمال الشريف
06.04.2025
هذا ما أوصى بنشره الحبيب الغالي أنس عند استشهاده.
إدارة الصفحة
Here’s a post uploaded to Anas’s X and Instagram account today:
Anas Al-Sharif’s voice will not be silenced. His message and words will be shared from Gaza to the world. Starting today, his platforms will be the voice of every hungry child, every grieving mother, and every patient, struggling father—the voice of Gaza resisting extermination, injustice, and betrayal. Before his death, Anas entrusted us with a great mission and a heavy responsibility: to keep the coverage ongoing. We will continue in accordance with his wishes for as long as we live. If you would like to support Gaza, stand with Anas, who was the voice of Gaza and the voice of the Jabalia Refugee Camp. He lived and died for Palestine, standing firm against the onslaught of rockets with resolve and dedication to the unwavering truth and to reporting his people’s struggles and suffering. We invite you to follow Anas’s accounts and share them to keep his voice alive. Anas is alive. His voice endures, and the coverage continues.
An International Educator in Vietnam 
Barry Malone: When Israel decides to silence the ‘voice’ of Palestinians (16.8.25) https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/spotlight/arid-41687892.html
Many Western journalists do not regard Palestinian journalists as colleagues and that’s why those reporting from Gaza can be killed by Israel with impunity, writes Barry Malone
Sat, 16 Aug, 2025 – 01:00
Barry Malone
Anas al-Sharif was a born storyteller with an innate sense of the dramatic. I’ll never forget watching him live on air from Gaza just after a ceasefire, which wasn’t to last, was announced in January 2024 after more than a year of relentless horror.
A crowd had gathered as he stood in front of the camera, preparing to talk to tens of millions of Al Jazeera viewers across the Arab world, ready to convey the mixture of happiness, relief, and very cautious optimism people were feeling now that the bombs would stop raining down on Gaza. Another journalist stood weeping to his right.
“There is great joy among these residents, finally, after these hard days,” he said.
And then, without missing a beat as he continued speaking to camera, he slowly removed his helmet and flak jacket, people cheering him on. They hoisted him on their shoulders and held their phones up to capture the moment. It was a moment to be recorded because, if Anas felt briefly safe, they all did. That was one of the things that made him a special journalist. People saw themselves reflected in him.
He wasn’t afraid to show his fellow Palestinians that he was suffering with them, that the terror Israel was unleashing on Gaza affected him too, that he sometimes struggled. That’s not to say he didn’t convey strength. His backbone was apparent every time he appeared on air, and it was apparent when he refused to bow to threats.
On another occasion, just weeks ago, Anas broke down during a broadcast and began to cry after a day of watching Palestinians being brought to hospital, some wounded, some weakened by starvation. As he wept, shouts from the crowd began to ring out.
‘Keep going, Anas. Keep going. You are our voice,’ they called. And they knew he would keep going. Because he always did.
This week, though, a decision was made to silence that voice in the most ruthless manner possible when the Israeli military targeted and killed not only Anas but the entire Al Jazeera team in Gaza City. It was an act of censorship so extreme, so brutal — and so blatant — that it shocked people all over the world and plunged Palestinians into despair.
But the killing of Anas, alongside his colleagues Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, and Mohammed Noufal, shouldn’t have been a shock at all.
The UN says that at least 242 journalists and media workers have been killed by Israel since the war on Gaza began. The UN and the Committee to Protect Journalists say that, in many of these cases, journalists were likely deliberately targeted.
Israel itself has often admitted to killing journalists, usually accusing them of being Hamas members with either no proof at all or only the flimsiest veneer of it.
Such was the case with Anas. He was a member of Hamas, Israel said. Not only a member but a leader of a cell responsible for “advancing rocket attacks”. Again, as is now standard, no real evidence was offered to back up the accusations.
No claims were made against the rest of the Al Jazeera crew. Perhaps Israel felt it only had to justify the killing of such a famous face. Lesser-known Palestinians can be snuffed out with no excuse needed, as they have been daily for 22 months.
Where Anas, who seemed to spend every waking moment standing in front of a camera, would have found the time to organise rocket attacks on the side is unclear.
Here’s the thing: If Anas really was a target because of Hamas activity, the Israeli military could have killed him any time it wanted. They wouldn’t have needed any sophisticated intelligence to locate him. All they had to do was switch on the TV.
So why now? Many observers believe the answer is clear. Israel’s cabinet last week approved prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan for a full military occupation of Gaza City. And just two days later, Anas and the Al Jazeera crew — the most prominent witnesses left in the city, the only people with the ability to broadcast to the entire world what is about to happen — were executed.
That theory, though, was smothered by the endless repetition of Israel’s version of events in the coverage of almost every prominent Western news organisation.
Headlines began with the words, “Israel says”. TV bulletins were scripted similarly. Israel’s accusations were rarely followed up with the context that no real proof had been provided. Anchors asked question after question about the alleged Hamas affiliation.
This credulous reporting of Israel’s accusations persists despite it being proven to have lied repeatedly throughout the conflict. There is no other source as unreliable as the Israeli government given such a free pass by the world’s media. Imagine if Russia killed a Ukrainian journalist, accusing him of being a member of an armed group. Would its claims be treated seriously? Would they lead the headlines? Of course not.
None of this is lost on Palestinian journalists, who have felt let down by the way Israel’s relentless targeting of their comrades and friends has been reported and by a lack of solidarity from some of the most prominent journalists in the West, many of whom have stayed conspicuously silent as the bodies of brave reporters in Gaza pile up.
“I will not speak to foreign media about the killing of Palestinian journalists. I will not sit on your global channels to be part of a segment you’ll forget by tomorrow,” Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, another fierce journalist who has reported ceaselessly from Gaza throughout the war and continues to, said on X after her colleagues were killed.
“We are being hunted and killed in Gaza while you watch in silence. For two years, your fellow journalists here have been slaughtered. What did you do? Nothing.”
Hind added her belief that many Western journalists don’t consider Palestinian journalists colleagues at all. She’s right and, though that had been apparent even before October 7, the last two years have confirmed it beyond any doubt.
It’s why Palestinian journalists are not trusted, it’s why they are dehumanised, it’s why the dirt that Israel throws sticks and, ultimately, it’s why they can be killed with impunity.
Mask-drop moment
There was a mask-drop moment on BBC this week when an anchor seemed confused that Al Jazeera used what she called “local people” to report from Gaza.
“Are they able to operate truly independently?” she asked her guest.
There’s an implication there. It’s an implication that these “local people” cannot be trusted, that Palestinians are too close to the story to report it accurately. It’s not an implication we ever hear about, say, British journalists reporting on Britain.
The fact that Palestinian journalists are reporting on a genocide while also living through it has made their reporting stronger.
How can knowledge of every street corner, a wide network of sources, deep subject expertise, and the familiarity that comes with living in a place be a problem? The answer is it’s not. Unless the reporters are from Gaza.
I worked at Al Jazeera for almost a decade and none of this was unusual to us. The network doesn’t employ Palestinian journalists because it is forced to. They work for Al Jazeera and always have because they are excellent at their jobs. They are the most qualified journalists available to cover the story. It’s as simple as that.
The fact that a prominent and experienced BBC anchor and many other top Western journalists can’t get that through their heads is a problem and says more about their own bias than it does about anyone else’s.
International journalists are now pushing for Israel to give them access to Gaza, having been barred for the duration of the conflict so far. They should be given that access. But the Western press corps, decked out in khaki chic, shouldn’t go to Gaza thinking it is their job to verify the devastation. It’s already been verified by the best and bravest journalists we have.
The foreign correspondents must acknowledge they are standing on those shoulders, and that Palestinians will always be the authors of their own story.
The evening of that ceasefire announcement, after Anas removed his flak jacket and helmet, he paid tribute to colleagues who had already been killed by Israel: Ismail Al-Ghoul, Rami Al-Rifi, Samir Abu Daqqa, and Hamza Dahdouh. Al-Ghoul, he said, would have been standing in his place reporting this historic moment had he lived.
Anas didn’t want his friend, or his reporting, to be forgotten.
As he stood in Ismail’s place, someone will soon stand in his, because Palestinian journalists refuse to be broken and giants like Anas, through their bravery and dedication, provide the blueprint for those who come behind them.
That new generation of journalists will remember Anas, Ismail, the Al Jazeera Gaza City crew, and the more than 200 other Palestinian journalists killed by Israel.
Without them, we would have been blind.
Anas al-Sharif: The targeted killing of ‘the voice of Gaza’ | Featured Documentary (22.8.25) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3u9KuexZu8
صوت غزة
المقطع الأول في أزقّة جباليا.. حيث يلتقي الفجر بالحزن، ارتفع صوتٌ شجاع، ناعم لكنه يطعن في الصمت. من وسط النار والدمار، حمل أنس صرخاتنا، قال الحقيقة للسماء، والسماء كانت تبكي معنا. ما قبل اللازمة عاش الألم وعرف الفقد، لكن الكاميرا ما خانت الوعد. كان يهمس للعالم: لا تنسوا، أطفال غزة، جوعها وجرحها المكشوف. اللازمة إن وصل صوتي إليكم فاعلموا أنهم قد أخرسوني، لكن لم يُخرسوا حكاياتي ولا دموع صغاري. لا تنسوا غزة، ولا أنس الذي ظلّ يقول: حتى لو صمت العالم.. الحقيقة لا تموت. المقطع الثاني عند أبواب الشفاء وقف، بالكاميرا والقلب والروح، حكى عن الجوع والدم المراق، عن الحلم اللي تسرقه الحرب. سمّوه إرهابًا.. لكن صوته ما كان خداع، كان يصرخ للطفل الجائع: “اصبر، أنا معك.” الجسر من بين الركام والأنقاض.. من بين صرخة كل بيت، يبقى صوته شاهدًا: “لن يطول ليل الصمت.” ناشد الأرض والسماء.. وعيون الشهداء، أن يكون الحق دليلنا.. مهما اشتد البلاء. اللازمة (تُعاد) إن وصل صوتي إليكم فاعلموا أنهم قد أخرسوني، لكن لم يُخرسوا حكاياتي ولا دموع صغاري. لا تنسوا غزة، ولا أنس الذي ظلّ يقول: حتى لو صمت العالم.. الحقيقة لا تموت.