“If these words reach you, they have killed me”
Posted: 12th August 2025
Anas Al-Sharif, one of the bravest journalists in Gaza, knew his voice would be silenced. This week it was – he and his four colleagues were deliberately targeted in a press tent, their cameras still beside them. For almost two years, Israel has banned foreign journalists from Gaza, while Palestinian reporters are killed at record rates. Israel is trying to “finish the job” in the dark, without the scrutiny of a free press. We must not let them. Join us to demand independent media access to Gaza and keep Anas’s voice alive.
Dear friends,
“This is my will and my final message. If these words reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice.”
That’s what Al Jazeera journalist Anas Al-Sharif wanted the world to hear if he was killed. And on Sunday, Israeli missiles found him. He and five colleagues were assassinated - in a press tent, their cameras still beside them.
Anas had already lost family, friends, and his home. He lived in constant danger. But he kept filming.
Israel’s far right government has banned international media crews from entering Gaza for almost two years. Inside, Palestinian journalists are being killed at a rate unseen in modern history. If Israel succeeds in silencing every Palestinian journalist, the last glimpses of truth will die with them.
Israel is trying to “finish the job” in the dark, without the scrutiny of a free press. We must not let them.
That is why international journalists must be allowed in - to take up the baton, to ensure the world sees what Israel will kill to hide. We cannot settle for Israeli forces-curated propaganda tours. We need real, independent access now – to document, to verify, to bear witness. Without it, the killing will continue in the shadows.
Let’s all demand the UN Security Council meet now and enforce its resolution to protect journalists in war zones:
Anas ended his life doing what he had sworn never to stop: telling the truth.Now it is up to us to ensure that the truth lives on.
“I never once hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification – so that Allah may bear witness against those who stayed silent, those who accepted our killing, those who choked our breath, and whose hearts were unmoved by the scattered remains of our children and women, doing nothing to stop the massacre that our people have faced for more than a year and a half.”
Now Anas has been silenced…. Like nearly 270 other brave Palestinian reporters. But we can make sure their voices are still heard:
With hope and determination,
Andy, Gordon, Marie, Julian and the whole Avaaz team
More information:
Avaaz is a 70-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world’s people shape global decision-making. (“Avaaz” means “voice” or “song” in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 18 countries on 6 continents and operates in 22 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz’s biggest campaigns here, or follow us on Facebook, X, or Instagram.