The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) have filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court against the IDF Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir and others they believe to be responsible for the killing of journalist Anas Al-Sharif.
Sharif, an Al Jazeera correspondent inside the Gaza Strip, was eliminated in an IDF strike on August 10. While the army said that he had served as a Hamas member since 2013, the HRF disputed that claim, saying that this was “the same recycled accusation used in killing over 220 journalists since October 2023.”
The HRF and the PCHR said the killing was not “just another tragedy in a long war on the press” but a “clear-cut criminal act – a war crime that is part of a broader genocidal campaign.”
Investigators from the HRF allegedly reconstructed the strike by following the trail from the “moment a drone camera locked onto Sharif’s position to the instant the missile hit.”
This led to the HRF identifying “the chain of command behind the killing,” which it listed as Zamir, Maj.-Gen. Tomer Bar, who is the commander of the Israel Air Force, Maj.-Gen. Yaniv Asor, who is the commander of the IDF Southern Command, Brig.-Gen. Yossi Sariel, the former chief of the 8200 Unit, Gen. A., who is the current chief of the 8200 Unit, Col. Avichay Adraee of the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, the Arab Media Division, the Palmachim Airbase’s commander, and the Black Snake Squadron commander.
After “identifying” the individuals responsible, the HRF and the PCHR filed an Article 15 communication to the ICC, accusing the above-listed figures of war crimes under Article 8(2)(a)(i) of the Rome Statute (willful killing), and of genocide under Article 6(a) of the Rome Statute.
The HRF was responsible for the investigation into the chain of command, and the PCHR brought to the case “its meticulous documentation of the other Al Jazeera journalists killed in Gaza,” which the two said constitutes evidence of a deliberate pattern of targeting the press.
Further, the PCHR’s files allegedly cover the killing of other journalists, including Hussam Shabat, Ismail Al-Ghoul, Ahmed al-Louh, Hamza Wael Al-Dahdouh, and Samer Abu Daqqa. All were identified as terrorists by Israel, but the PCHR disputes that.
“These cases show that Sharif’s killing was not an isolated event but part of an established policy,” the PCHR said.
Accusations of 'smear campaign'
Aside from the killing itself, the HRF also accused Israel of carrying out a smear campaign against Sharif for the two years before his death. It took particular aim at Adraee, Israel’s Arabic-language military spokesperson, whom the HRF accused of employing social media to frame Sharif as a Hamas operative.
The two organizations created a “systematic policy” which they believe Israel uses to target Al Jazeera journalists. According to them, the stages involve labeling journalists as terrorists without any plausible proof; smearing them publicly to dehumanize and justify their killing; and then eliminating them in targeted strikes.
“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 said.