On December 16, exactly one year after Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif was killed in Gaza, Palestinians and press freedom organizations held commemorations. Al-Sharif was regarded as one of the reporters whose voice shaped how the world viewed Israel's war in the Gaza Strip.
Born in 1996 in the Jabalya refugee camp, al-Sharif began his career as a local cameraman before becoming a familiar face on Arab television screens through his tireless reporting on Israeli airstrikes and the toll war took on civilians.
Al-Sharif was killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting a clearly marked press tent near al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. The attack also claimed the lives of three other Al Jazeera staff: Mohammed Qreiqeh, cameraman Ibrahim Zahir, and producer Mohammed Noufal. UN experts and numerous human rights organizations condemned the incident.
Al-Sharif's death, along with those of many other journalists in Gaza, has been cited as part of a pattern of targeting media in the region.
In a recorded will made before his death, al-Sharif urged people not to forget Gaza and to steadfastly defend Palestine. These words continue to be widely shared on social media and were recalled during ceremonies marking the first anniversary of his death.
