Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Last night, Israel killed five Al Jazeera journalists in what it called a "targeted strike" on a tent near Gaza's al-Shifa hospital.

One of those killed - Anas al-Sharif - was one of the most prominent correspondents reporting from the Strip. The funerals of the five journalists drew huge crowds of people, gathering to pay their respects.

They join a growing list of Palestinian journalists dead in Gaza, with the Committee to Protect Journalists saying 186 have now been killed since the war began.

The Israeli military insists says it has evidence Sharif "served as the head of a terrorist cell" in Hamas. But it produced little evidence to support that claim.

The BBC understands he did previously work for a Hamas media team before the conflict began. Al Jazeera denies its reporters are affiliated with Hamas, and in social media videos before his death Sharif can be heard criticising the group.

Condemnation of the killings has rung out from media organisations, humanitarian groups and foreign governments.

They accuse Israel of trying to silence journalists reporting on what is going on there. Israel denies deliberately targeting journalists.

We're closing this live page shortly. You can read more in our story here:

• UN condemns targeted Israeli attack that killed five Al Jazeera journalists

Emir Nader
Reporting from Jerusalem

Streets in Gaza were thronged today with crowds, gathered for the funerals of the journalists killed yesterday - a testament to how well-known and admired they were.

Chief among them was Anas al-Sharif, who had millions of followers online. He was a household name, not only in Gaza but also internationally as perhaps the most prominent correspondent who remained in the Gaza Strip.

Some of the reaction is reflecting the fact that the number of voices who are in Gaza to report what is happening is dwindling, as more than 180 journalists have been killed since the beginning of the war. Others have fled abroad.

The Al Jazeera team was based in Gaza City, which Israel says it plans to take over in the coming months. Gazans will see the killings as Israel silencing voices who can communicate what will unfold there.

We've had what the Israeli military has presented as evidence, appearing to show that Sharif was a registered Hamas fighter years before the current war - alongside a payment of $200 (£149) to him after an injury. These spreadsheets are shared with unclear context and don’t appear to be substantial proof.

Earlier, the BBC reported that at some point before the current conflict Sharif did dosome work with a Hamas media team.

However we’ve seen no evidence of Sharif having involvement in the current war or remaining an active member of Hamas, as claimed by the Israeli military. In some of his social media posts before his death, the journalist criticised Hamas.

There’s also been no explanation as to why if Sharif was indeed an active threat, Israel waited ten months since their first accusations against him before killing him.

There is huge scepticism within Gaza and among press freedom groups about what is being communicated by Israel.

We've been seeing more reactions over the killing of five Al Jazeera journalists in an Israeli strike in Gaza:

• The head of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency, Philippe Lazzarini, said he is "horrified" by the killings, adding that "journalists must be protected"
• A spokesperson for Amnesty International Australia said that "no journalist should ever be targeted or killed simply for carrying out their work"

• The UK's National Union of Journalists described it as a "horrific attack", and accused Israel of "systematically discrediting, targeting and killing local journalists"
• Meanwhile Italy's Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said Palestinians need saving from a "government which has lost reason and humanity"

Image source, Reuters

The Foreign Press Association (FPA) says it is "outraged" by the killing of Palestinian journalists in Gaza City last night.

The Israeli military says that Anas al-Sharif - one of the five journalists killed - was targeted as he had "served as the head of a terrorist cell in Hamas". Al Jazeera denies its reporters are affiliated with Hamas.

The FPA alleges in a statement that "the Israeli military has repeatedly labelled Palestinian journalists as militants, often without verifiable evidence".

"The Israeli government also continues to accuse Palestinian journalists, who have been bravely reporting throughout the war despite the great personal risk involved, of bias," it adds.

The organisation calls on Israel to "cease its attacks on journalists in Gaza and allow journalists to enter and report freely".

As a reminder, international news organisations - including the BBC - are not allowed by Israel into Gaza to report freely, so many outlets rely on Gaza-based reporters for coverage.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) says controversial aid group the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) should be "dismantled", and a UN-led aid coordination system "must be restored".

In a post on X, MSF says GHF-run food sites in Gaza are "not aid", instead claiming they are an example of "orchestrated killing".

Earlier this month a UN report said 1,373 Palestinians have been killed seeking food since last May - including 859 near GHF sites. The UN said most were killed by the Israeli military.

The GHF has disputed this figure and earlier today said it has delivered 117 million meals in Gaza to date.

Israel has accused Hamas of instigating chaos near the aid centres and says its forces do not intentionally open fire on civilians.

Here are some of the latest pictures coming from Gaza today.

In Khan Younis, people continue to live in makeshift tents. While across the border in Egypt, Red Crescent members pack up aid at a warehouse near the Rafah crossing.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, EPA

Israeli military body Cogat, which co-ordinates the entry of aid into Gaza, earlier shared its latest figures, external on the amount of aid that entered the Strip on Sunday.

It says:

• 280 trucks entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings
• 300 trucks were collected and distributed by the UN and international organisations
• Tankers of UN fuel entered for the operation of essential humanitarian systems
• 131 pallets of aid were airdropped in cooperation with the UAE, Jordan, Germany, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands and France

UN bodies estimate 600 trucks a day are required to begin tackling Gaza's chronic humanitarian crisis.

The US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is among organisations currently delivering aid into Gaza.

However, some international agencies claim the amount of aid entering the Strip is not enough and argue that airdrops are expensive and ineffective.

In its latest situation report, external from 8 August, the UN's Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) said it had 6,000 trucks loaded with aid outside Gaza waiting the the green light to enter.

The organisation said it had not been allowed to bring any humanitarian aid, including medicine and medical supplies, into Gaza since 2 March 2025.

It added that the UN, including Unrwa and its partners were able to bring in 500-600 trucks a day during the ceasefire earlier this year.

Image source, Getty Images

In the last hour, the UN has released a statement describing "shocking" conditions at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

Olga Cherevko, from the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), visited the site on Sunday.

In a statement, she says the hospital's corridors were crammed with patients and that she witnessed five injured people and three bodies being brought in from food collection areas.

She adds that the children’s ward was full of malnourished patients, and injured adults were “extremely frail, extremely thin and very, very hungry".

Meanwhile the UN agency assisting Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) says there is a "critical sugar shortage" in Gaza, describing it as a "grim reality" of the conflict.

Unrwa's director of health, Dr Akihiro Seita, says the lack of sugar means treating children with type 1 diabetes for hypoglycaemia - a common but potentially fatal complication that can arise from the condition - is becoming nearly impossible.

“What wouldn’t even be a problem in a normal world is now a deadly reality in Gaza,” Dr Seita says, calling it “unbearably cruel".

Let's turn our attention to the broader situation in Gaza for a moment. Israel's attack that killed Al Jazeera journalists comes as the military prepares to "take control" of Gaza City.

The decision was made during an Israeli security cabinet meeting last week, but has faced domestic and international opposition.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted the plan is the "best way" to end the war, but several of Israel's allies have condemned the idea, while the UN warns it would lead to "more massive forced displacement" and "more killing".

Hamas has warned of "fierce resistance" to the move.

The plan also faces fierce opposition within Israel – including from military officials and hostages' families.

The Israel Defense Forces said it would prepare to take control of Gaza City while providing humanitarian aid to the "civilian population outside the combat zones".

But it is unclear if this is new aid, and if it will be delivered by the controversial Israel and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation or another mechanism.

You can read more on what we know about Israel's plan to take over Gaza City in our news story.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry has issued an update saying 69 people have been killed in the last 24 hours.

This takes the number of Palestinians killed since the start of the war to at least 61,499, with more than 150,000 people injured, according to the ministry.

In the update, the ministry says five people have died due to malnutrition in the last 24 hours, which it says takes the overall number of people dead since October 2023 due to a lack of food to 222.

We can now bring you a statement from Qatar's Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani, condemning what he describes as the "deliberate targeting of journalists by Israel in the Gaza Strip".

In a statement on X, Thani says that "these crimes are beyond imagination" and reveal "the inability of the international community and its laws to stop this tragedy".

Al Jazeera was founded in Qatar with its headquarters in Doha, and is in part-funded by the Qatari government.

As a reminder, Israel alleges that the broadcaster's correspondent, Anas al-Sharif, had "served as the head of a terrorist cell in Hamas". Al Jazeera denies its reporters are affiliated with Hamas.

We've just heard Al Jazeera's managing editor respond to claims we reported earlier - that Anas al-Sharif, one of the journalists killed by a targeted Israeli strike over the weekend, had previously worked for a Hamas media team.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's World at One, Moawad says he "wouldn't respond to information that we don't know anything about".

"We have no information whatsoever about him being part of even governmental bodies in Gaza," he says. "He was a journalist, he continued to be a journalist - he was just trying to convey the message of the people on the ground."

The Israeli military says it targeted the 28-year-old correspondent, alleging he had "served as the head of a terrorist cell in Hamas", but has produced little evidence to support that claim.

Asked about that accusation, Moawad says no evidence has been shared with his team by the Israeli military: "We haven't seen any founded proof, only unfounded allegations".

Image source, Getty Images

Israeli President Isaac Herzog says Australia's declaration that it will recognise a Palestinian state at the UN next month - as well as similar moves by other countries - are "a reward for terror, a prize for the enemies of freedom, liberty, and democracy".

Speaking at the opening of a new Knesset Museum in Jerusalem, Herzog says: "This is a grave and dangerous mistake, which will not help a single Palestinian and sadly will not bring back a single hostage.”

Making the announcement earlier today, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that "a two-state solution is humanity's best hope to break the cycle of violence in the Middle East and to bring an end to the conflict, suffering and starvation in Gaza."

• You can read more on what recognising a Palestinian state means here

Image source, Getty Images

As we mentioned earlier, funeral processions have been taking place for some of the people killed in Israeli strikes last night.

We are now beginning to see images of five bodies wrapped in white cloth be carried through Gaza.

Huge crowds follow the deceased as they journey to their resting place, with press vests placed on top of their bodies.

Other journalists watch on. Many look on in anguish, others pray.

Seven people in total were killed in the attack, however we are currently only seeing photographs of the burials of the five Al Jazeera journalists.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

The UK government is “gravely concerned” by the killing of Al Jazeera journalists and other media in Gaza by Israel.

Speaking to reporters, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's official spokesman says Israel should ensure journalists can work safely and report without fear.

He also called for an independent investigation into the killing of Anas al-Sharif and his colleagues.

Image source, Reuters

If you're just joining us, here's what has happened so far today:

• Five journalists working for the Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera have been killed overnight in targeted Israeli strikes on Gaza City. They're among at least seven killed, Reuters is reporting

• One of those killed was a high-profile Al Jazeera correspondent, 28-year-old Anas al-Sharif, a Palestinian journalist who has been reporting from inside Gaza since before 7 October
• Accusations are flying between Israel and Al Jazeera, with the broadcaster calling Sharif's killing a "targeted assassination", while Israel alleges that Sharif "served as the head of a terrorist cell in Hamas"
• The BBC understands Sharif worked for a Hamas media team in Gaza before the current conflict
• International condemnation of the strikes is mounting, with the UN calling them "a grave breach of humanitarian law" while the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says the attack "raises serious questions about its [Israel's]... respect for press freedom"
• Meanwhile Australia has become the latest country to announce plans to recognise a Palestinian state - following similar moves by France, the UK and Canada, a largely symbolic move writes our correspondent Paul Adams

We'll continue to bring you all the latest on this throughout the day.

Jon Donnison
Reporting from Jerusalem

Anas al-Sharif, who has been a familiar face on Al Jazeera for much of the war, worked for a Hamas media team in Gaza before the current conflict, the BBC understands.

Israel says he was "the head of a terrorist cell in Hamas" but has produced little evidence to support that.

In some of his social media posts before his death, the journalist can be heard criticising Hamas.

The killing of Sharif and four of his Al Jazeera colleagues, effectively wiping out the network’s team in Gaza City, has been strongly criticised by the Committee to Protect Journalists.

There will be questions about Israel’s justification for killing Sharif if he played a relatively minor non-combat role with Hamas several years ago.

Also, as has been the issue throughout the war, there is the question of proportionality. In targeting Sharif, the IDF killed four other Al Jazeera journalists with no suggestion of any links to Hamas.

Verified footage shows aftermath of attack that killed Gaza journalistspublished at 12:44 British Summer Time 11 August

12:44 BST 11 August

By Shayan Sardarizadeh and Sherie Ryder

BBC Verify has been working to verify footage and images from inside Gaza following an Israeli air strike that hit a tent killing five journalists near the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.

One of those killed was Anas al-Sharif who worked for the news organisation Al Jazeera, who the Israel Defense Forces has claimed was the head of a “Hamas terrorist cell”.

Al Jazeera's managing editor Mohamed Moawad rejected the Israeli allegation and told the BBC Sharif was “doing one thing: he was reporting and giving voice to the voiceless inside the city of Gaza".

Two clips - which are too graphic to be broadcast by the BBC - appear to show the bodies of Sharif and another journalist, Mohammed Qreiqeh, being carried away from the scene.

We were able to confirm the location of the incident by comparing the scene with similar posts on social media.

This morning, we’ve seen some daylight footage of the aftermath. Comparing videos posted online with photographs from the Reuters news agency we can confirm this is where the journalists were killed.

We can now bring you some reaction to Australia's announcement that it will join the UK, France and Canada in recognising a Palestinian state during a UN assembly in September.

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry calls the move a “betrayal and abandonment of the Israeli hostages who continue to languish in appalling conditions in Gaza”.

“This announcement gives them no hope for release,” says the group, which describes itself as representing more than 200 Jewish organisations.

But Sarah Schwartz from the Jewish Council of Australia, which has been critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza, says: "If Australia truly supports Palestinian self-determination it must end all military cooperation with Israel.”

Schwartz, the group’s executive officer, say Australia cannot "endorse Palestinian statehood with one hand" but continue to "destroy it with the other”.

Australia has denied that it sells arms to Gaza, but components used for weapons are a "separate issue", Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said on Sunday.

This post was updated on 12 August to include comment from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry

The United Nations Human Rights office condemns the killing of six journalists in Gaza, calling it a "grave breach of international humanitarian law".

In a post on X, it says it condemns Israel targeting the tent that housed the men, adding: "Israel must respect and protect all civilians, including journalists."

"We call for immediate, safe & unhindered access to Gaza for all journalists," the statement continues.

Five Al Jazeera journalists and one freelance journalist are among seven people killed in the Israeli strike in Gaza City last night, Reuters reports.