Gaza (Quds News Network)- Israel has spread conflicting and fabricated claims about Anas al-Sharif, the Al Jazeera correspondent it killed in Gaza today along with six other journalists. Official Israeli statements label him variously as a “Nukhba unit militant,” a “soldier,” a “group commander,” and a “combatant.” The Israeli army also called him “a cell leader in Hamas’s anti-tank unit”. Another claim said he “led a rocket-launching cell”. These contradictions raise serious doubts about Israel’s accusations. One glaring inconsistency is the claimed date of his recruitment, his 17th birthday. Hamas membership officially requires a minimum age of 18, and joining elite groups like the Qassam Brigades typically takes years of vetting and training. Anas al-Sharif was one of seven journalists killed by Israeli strikes on a tent used by Al Jazeera reporters outside al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza. Mohammed Qreiqa, Musab al-Sharif, Mohammed Noufal, and Ibrahim Zaher also were murdered  in the attack. In recognition of his brave work, Amnesty International Australia awarded Anas al-Sharif the 2024 “Human Rights Defender” award. The honor highlighted his courageous coverage of the genocide in Gaza and his powerful eyewitness reports that revealed the suffering of civilians. This deadly strike followed weeks of public Israeli incitement against Al Jazeera reporters, especially al-Sharif. Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee publicly accused him of spreading “false propaganda” and promoting “terrorist agendas” in posts targeting Arabic media. With the killing of these journalists, the total number of Palestinian journalists killed by Israeli forces in Gaza during the ongoing genocide has now risen to 237.