‘War Crime’ – NGOs File ICC Case over Israel’s Killing of Palestinian Journalists

August 13, 2025 News
Palestinian journalists Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qraiqea were killed in an Israeli bombardment in Gaza. (Photo: via social media)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

“This was a clear-cut criminal act—a war crime and part of a broader genocidal campaign—and it demanded a direct, targeted legal response.” Hind Rajab Foundation

The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) have filed a joint case at the International Criminal Court (ICC) over Israel’s assassination of Palestinian journalist Anas al-Sharif and his colleagues a few days ago.

“This was not just another tragedy in a long war on the press,” the HRF said in a press statement. “This was a clear-cut criminal act—a war crime and part of a broader genocidal campaign—and it demanded a direct, targeted legal response.”

An Israeli missile struck the press tent outside the al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Sunday night, killing al-Sharif and four other members of the Al-Jazeera crew; Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa.

Another journalist, Mohammed Al-Khaldi, who worked for Sahat Media Platform, and Saad Jundiya, a Palestinian civilian who happened to be present at the scene at the time of the attack, were also killed, according to the HRF.

‘Broader Genocidal Campaign’

The Israeli military later confirmed that it had carried out the attack, following a campaign of threats against al-Sharif.

HRF said the army’s “justification” was “the same recycled accusation used in killing over 220 journalists since October 2023: that the victims were ‘terrorists in press vests’.”

“This was a clear-cut criminal act—a war crime and part of a broader genocidal campaign—and it demanded a direct, targeted legal response,” the organization stated.

Rockets Cannot Kill the Truth: A Farewell to Gaza’s Fallen Journalists

The new Article 15 Communication to the ICC specifically names senior Israeli military and political figures, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, identified in “the chain of command” behind the killing.

Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, the army’s Chief of the General Staff; Maj.-Gen. Tomer Bar – Commander of the Israeli Air Force; Brig.-Gen. Yossi Sariel, Former Commander of Unit 8200 (Israel’s signals intelligence branch); Col. Avichay Adraee, the army’s spokesperson in the Arab Media Division; and others, are also mentioned in the legal filing.

‘Systematic Policy’

HRF said the killings of al-Sharif and his colleagues “are not isolated incidents” and that the HRF and PCHR’s investigations “reveal a systematic policy” targeting Palestinian journalists. This includes: “Label them terrorists without any plausible proof, smear them publicly to dehumanize and justify their killing,” and to “eliminate them in targeted strikes.”

The joint submission accuses the identified military and political figures of:

  • War crimes under Article 8(2)(a)(i) of the Rome Statute (willful killing)
  • Genocide under Article 6(a) of the Rome Statute (as part of the broader campaign to destroy the Palestinian people and erase those documenting their suffering)

The case also makes three urgent demands to the ICC Prosecutor:

  1. Issue arrest warrants for the military officials named in the submission.
  2. Expand Netanyahu’s arrest warrant to include crimes against journalists.
  3. Formally include all 220+ journalist killings in the ICC’s Palestine investigation.

Not Just ‘Symbolic Litigation’

The organization emphasized that the case was “not symbolic litigation” but that it was “tracking these individuals, identifying their roles, and preparing to pursue them in any jurisdiction willing to act.”

The case, it noted, “is being built not only for The Hague,” but also for prosecution in national courts that recognize universal jurisdiction for war crimes and genocide.

“The assassination of Anas Al-Sharif was so blunt, so arrogant, and so drenched in contempt for human life, truth, the legal order, and humanity itself, that it cannot and will not be allowed to pass into silence,” HRF Chairman Dyab Abou Jahjah stated.

The organization also pointed out that “the campaign to delegitimize” al-Sharif had begun long before his killing.

“For nearly two years, Avichay Adraee, Israel’s Arabic-language military spokesperson, used social media to accuse Al-Sharif of being a Hamas operative. He mocked the journalist’s emotional reporting, called his on-camera tears ‘crocodile tears,’ and framed his work as propaganda,” HRF stressed.

Familiar ‘Smear Playbook’

It said this “smear playbook is familiar,” with journalists such as Hamza Wael Al-Dahdouh, Ismail Al-Ghoul, and Hussam Shabat, also having been branded as “terrorists” by Israeli officials.

“Days or weeks later, they were dead—killed in precision strikes on clearly marked press vehicles or while wearing ‘PRESS’ vests,” HRF said.

The killings of al-Sharif and his colleagues have raised to 238 the number of journalists killed in the ongoing genocidal assault on Gaza since October 2023, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

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