A group of 16 Democratic senators, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who votes with the Democrats, wrote to Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state, questioning Israel’s claim that Anas al-Sharif was a Hamas member posing as a journalist.
“The recent targeted Israeli strike on a group of journalists and media workers, which killed six journalists, including well-known Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif, is just one example of attacks on reporters in Gaza and part of a pattern of violence that has silenced the voices of far too many Gazan journalists,” wrote the senators, led by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), who is Jewish.
“Israel has not provided convincing evidence for its claim that al-Sharif was a Hamas militant,” the senators wrote. “Absent a compelling explanation of the military objective for this attack, it appears Israel is publicly admitting to targeting and killing journalists who have shown the world the scale of suffering in Gaza, which would be a violation of international law.”
Israeli officials have publicized records suggesting that al-Sharif led a Hamas cell and was part of a Hamas phone directory. The Jewish state has also published photos of al-Sharif with senior Hamas members, including Yahya Sinwar, who led the terror group until he was killed in October.
Israel said it has more information about al-Sharif that is classified, and that several other journalists who were killed with him were also terrorists.
The BBC reported that al-Sharif worked with Hamas’s media unit prior to the war.
“What steps has the State Department taken to ensure that the Israel Defense Forces, a major recipient of U.S. security assistance, reforms its rules of engagement to mitigate harm to journalists?” the senators wrote.
In addition to Schatz and Sanders, Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) signed the letter.
