The killing of six Palestinian journalists, including four from Al Jazeera, in an Israeli strike on Gaza City has triggered strong condemnation from governments, international bodies, and press freedom groups.

Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said the targeting of journalists “reveals how these crimes are beyond imagination” and reflects the failure of the international community to stop them. He offered prayers for Al Jazeera correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qraiqea, along with their colleagues.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei called the attack “an assassination in cold blood” of Al Jazeera’s entire Gaza team, describing it as a deliberate airstrike on their tent. He accused Israel and the United States of starving Gazans and targeting them through “food traps,” urging urgent global action to halt what he described as genocide and to hold those responsible to account.

The UN human rights office condemned the strike as a “grave breach of international humanitarian law,” noting that at least 242 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023. It called on Israel to respect and protect civilians, including journalists, and to grant safe, unhindered access to the enclave for media workers.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said it was “appalled” by the deaths of al-Sharif, Qraiqea, and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher and Mohammed Noufal.

According to Gaza’s Government Media Office, the strike on Sunday evening hit a journalists’ tent near the Al-Shifa Medical Complex, killing four Al Jazeera staff and two others, and injuring several more. It accused Israel of committing “a full-fledged war crime” aimed at silencing coverage of its planned occupation of Gaza City.

Al Jazeera Media Network condemned the killings as a deliberate, premeditated attack, holding the Israeli army and government fully responsible. It said its Gaza correspondents had been openly targeted by senior Israeli officials. The network described al-Sharif as “one of Gaza’s bravest journalists,” whose death was part of a systematic campaign to silence the press.

Dozens of mourners gathered on Monday for the funeral with many gathering in the courtyard of the Al-Shifa hospital to pay their last respects and bury the victims.

In a will written days before his death, al-Sharif pledged his life to being “a support and a voice” for Palestinians and urged the world not to stay silent. He asked that his family, including his young daughter Sham and son Salah, be cared for, and called on people to “be bridges toward the liberation of the land and its people.”

Gaza’s Government Media Office said the latest strike brought the number of journalists killed by Israel in the enclave since October 7, 2023, to 238.

Israel’s war on Gaza has so far killed more than 61,400 people. Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice.