The Fort Worth Press - Al Jazeera journalists hold vigil for staff slain in Gaza

Anas al-Sharif, a recognisable face on the channel, correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa were killed in the Israeli attack on Sunday.

Scores congregated in an Al Jazeera Arabic studio and newsroom in the Qatari capital to condemn the killings, promising to continue their reporting on the 22-month war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Some held pictures of the journalists killed in a strike on their tent in Gaza City in the north of the Palestinian territory.

Among those present in Doha were Al Jazeera's Gaza bureau chief Wael al-Dahdouh, whose wife and children were killed in Israeli strikes, and camera operator Fadi Al Wahidi who was left paralysed by a gunshot wound to the neck while reporting in the territory.

"Every time we lose a loved one and a colleague, we lose a part of this... family of journalists. This is something extremely difficult and painful," Al-Dahdouh told AFP following the vigil.

"We stand in solidarity... and we take whatever action we can, but blatant attacks against international law and against everything continue," he added.

The Israeli military confirmed that it had carried out the attack on Al-Sharif, alleging that he was a "terrorist" who "posed as a journalist".

Tamer Almisshal, a senior presenter at Al Jazeera overseeing coverage in Gaza, told AFP the Israeli assertions were "fabricated" and "baseless", adding that it was not the first time the Qatar-based channel's journalists in Gaza had been accused of being affiliated with militant groups after being killed.

"Israel, by killing and targeting our correspondents and our team in Gaza, they want to kill the truth," Almisshal added.

In July, the Committee to Protect Journalists called for Al-Sharif's protection and accused the Israeli military of carrying out online attacks on the reporter by claiming that he was a member of Hamas.

With Gaza sealed off, many media groups around the world, including AFP, depend on photo, video and text coverage of the conflict provided by Palestinian reporters.

Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in early July that more than 200 journalists had been killed in Gaza since the war began, including several Al Jazeera journalists.

Al-Dahdouh explained those journalists still in Gaza "face attacks, murder, fear, hunger, displacement, thirst... after a while, we couldn't recognise many of our colleagues because they had simply lost half their body weight".

"Their love for this profession... keeps them connected and carrying out this duty," he added.

M.McCoy--TFWP