Dozens of people in Gaza gathered on Monday for the funeral of five Al Jazeera staff members and a sixth reporter killed in an Israeli strike, in an attack which drew widespread condemnations from across the world.

Israel has been facing growing international criticism over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza caused by its offensive since October 2023, with Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and experts already declaring its actions in Gaza as a “genocide”, which Tel Aviv rejects.

Anas Al Sharif, aged 28, was among a group of four Al Jazeera journalists and an assistant who were killed in a “directed assault” on a tent opposite Shifa Hospital in eastern Gaza City, Gaza officials and Al Jazeera said. An official at the hospital said two other people were also killed in the strike. A sixth journalist, Mohammad Al-Khaldi, a local freelance reporter, was also killed in the airstrike, according to medics at Al Shifa Hospital.

Mourners stood amid bombed-out buildings in the courtyard of Al Shifa hospital to pay their respects to Al Sharif and four of his colleagues.

The killings elicited intense criticism from governments and rights associations.

Pakistan

Pakistan said the “egregious attack constitutes yet another serious violation of international humanitarian and human rights law” and underscored the scale and severity of the crimes perpetrated by Israel.

“The government of Pakistan calls upon the international community to take immediate and decisive action to end Israeli impunity, ensure the protection of civilians, and hold Israel accountable for its actions,” said a statement from the Foreign Office.

Qatar

Qatar’s prime minister lambasted Israel for killing journalists, describing the deaths as “crimes beyond imagination”.

“The deliberate targeting of journalists by Israel in the Gaza Strip reveals how these crimes are 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.

UK

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was “gravely concerned” about the repeated targeting of journalists in Gaza, according to his spokesperson.

“We are gravely concerned by the repeated targeting of journalists in Gaza,” Starmer’s spokesperson told reporters.

“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.”

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.”

UN

The UN human rights agency also condemned the killing, terming it a “grave breach of international humanitarian law”.

In a post on X, the office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said, “Israel must respect and protect all civilians, including journalists,” noting that at least 242 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza since the conflict began in October 2023.

“We call for immediate, safe and unhindered access to Gaza for all journalists,” it added.

Iran

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei called on the world to hold Israel to account, Al Jazeera reported.

“A press badge is no shield against genocidal war criminals who fear the world witnessing their atrocities,” said Baghaei, accusing Israel of assassinating the journalists “in cold blood”.

“Strong condemnation is the bare minimum for any decent human being, but the world must act immediately to stop this harrowing genocide and hold the criminals accountable,” he added. “Indifference and inaction are complicity in Israel’s crimes.”

Reporters Without Borders

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the “acknowledged murder by the Israeli army” of Al Sharif in Gaza.

Where Israel accused Al Sharif of being a “terrorist” affiliated with Hamas, 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.”

The NGO “strongly and angrily condemns the acknowledged murder by the Israeli army” of Al Sharif and other journalists, RSF added.

Committee to Protect Journalists

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which in July urged the international community to protect Al Sharif, said in a statement that Israel had failed to provide any evidence to back up its allegations against him.

“Israel’s pattern of labelling journalists as militants without providing credible evidence raises serious questions about its intent and respect for press freedom,” said Sara Qudah, CPJ’s director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“Journalists are civilians and must never be targeted. Those responsible for these killings must be held accountable,” Qudah added.

Freedom of the Press Foundation

The Freedom of the Press Foundation also condemned the killings, calling for international action to halt further attacks on the media, according to Al Jazeera.

“Everyone who has been angered by recent horrific images of starvation and suffering in Gaza needs to recognise that they wouldn’t see those images, and wouldn’t know about the atrocities their governments bankroll, without journalists risking their lives,” Seth Stern, director of advocacy at the New York-based nonprofit, said in a statement.

“That is exactly why Israel is targeting and killing them in violation of international law. Now, perhaps more than any other time since the killing began, the world understands how vital these journalists’ work is.

“The calls for the assassinations to end must be louder than ever, and we can’t let our leaders get away with mere expressions of concern or performative condemnations while the money and weapons Israel uses to exterminate journalists and other civilians keep flowing.”

Amnesty International

Amnesty International said the claims made by Israeli forces about Al Sharif were “entirely unsubstantiated and without evidence”, adding that they followed a pattern of similar claims and threats.

“Israeli forces have repeatedly branded journalists, aid workers, and healthcare workers in Gaza as ‘terrorists’, a pattern that has enabled the deliberate targeting and killing of these individuals with complete impunity.”

Amnesty called for an independent and impartial investigation into the killings of Palestinian journalists, with “justice and full reparation for their families”, saying that states must “urgently act to bring an end to Israel’s genocide now”.

Additional reporting by Nadir Guramani.