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German Press Council Slams BILD Over Bias

CrossFireArabia
December 17, 2025

The German Press Council has issued a formal reprimand to BILD.DE over its pro-Israel coverage of the killing of Palestinian journalist Anas Al-Sharif in Gaza.

The council said the report violated core journalistic ethics. It cited a serious breach of accuracy and a grave attack on the journalist’s personal dignity.

The decision followed 328 collective complaints. All targeted an August article on BILD.DE about Al-Sharif, an Al Jazeera correspondent in Gaza.

The article echoed claims by the Israeli army. It claimed that Al-Sharif led a Hamas cell. The headline presented this claim as fact. It read: “Terrorist disguised as journalist killed in Gaza.”

Editors provided no sufficient objective evidence. The report triggered wide criticism. BILD later changed the headline.

The Press Council’s complaints committee ruled unanimously. It said the coverage showed gross disregard for due diligence under Article 2 of the Press Code. It also found a severe violation of personal honor under Article 9.

Because of the seriousness, the council issued a formal reprimand. This is its strongest disciplinary measure.

The committee reached a different conclusion on other reports. Two articles with a total of 15 complaints did not violate ethics. One used the headline: “Army: Killed Al Jazeera reporter received salary from Hamas.” Another asked a question: “Israel kills Gaza reporter: Journalist or terrorist?”

In both cases, the outlets reported the allegation without adopting it. The council rejected the complaints as “unfounded.”

The German Press Council stressed its independence. It said decisions rely only on ethical standards in the Press Code. Politics and personal views play no role according to the Quds News Network.

Anas Al-Sharif was born in 1996 in Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza. He worked as an Al Jazeera correspondent during Israel’s genocide in the enclave.

He became known for documenting massacres and the humanitarian catastrophe, despite threats. He was killed on August 10, 2025, in a direct Israeli strike on a journalists’ tent near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

The killing sparked international condemnation. Al Jazeera denounced the act as a deliberate attack on press freedom.

Since October 7, 2023, the Press Council has received more than 650 complaints linked to Middle East coverage. In 2025 alone, it recorded 429 complaints. They targeted more than 200 articles across German media.

News

Rainwater Destroys

CrossFireArabia
December 17, 2025

News

Gaza in The Mouth of The Storm

CrossFireArabia
December 17, 2025

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has warned that Storm Byron has further aggravated the already dire living conditions for thousands of displaced people in the Gaza Strip, many of whom are sheltering in tents or damaged buildings.

UNRWA said on US social media company X on Tuesday that the storm has intensified risks for families who have been forced from their homes, as severe weather hits overcrowded and unsafe shelters.

“Storm Byron is worsening the already dire living conditions of thousands of people living in tents or damaged shelters,” the agency said.

UNRWA added that while it continues efforts to support displaced families, Israeli authorities have been blocking the agency from directly bringing humanitarian aid into Gaza for months, limiting the scale of assistance that can reach those in need.

The agency said people have died after damaged buildings collapsed where families were sheltering, while children have died due to exposure to the cold.

“This must stop,” UNRWA said, calling for immediate and unhindered access for humanitarian aid. “Aid must be allowed in at scale, now.”

Since last week, thousands of tents housing survivors of Israel’s war have turned into pools of water, soaking bedding, clothing, and food supplies and leaving hundreds of Palestinian families exposed to the cold without warmth or shelter.

The Gaza Strip, the media office said, needs around 300,000 tents and prefabricated housing units to meet the most basic shelter needs of Palestinians after the destruction of the enclave’s infrastructure in two years of Israeli attacks.

Israel’s two year war in Gaza killed more than 70,000 Palestinians and decimated the enclave. The assault came to a halt under a fragile ceasefire deal that took effect in October.

Israeli Prime Minister is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. This week, the appeals chamber of the ICC rejected Israel’s legal challenge seeking to block an investigation into its actions in the genocidal war in the Palestinian territory according to Anadolu.

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Priest Converts To Islam

CrossFireArabia
December 17, 2025

An Australian priest, identified as David Gould, has announced his conversion to Islam after serving for 45 years in the Australian Church. Following his decision, he has adopted the name Abdul Rahman, describing the move as a personal spiritual journey.

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At 61: One More Israeli Soldier Kills Himself

CrossFireArabia
December 17, 2025

An Israeli soldier killed himself in a military base in northern Israel, taking the suicide-related death toll to 61 since the beginning of the Gaza war in October 2023, local media said.

According to the Haaretz newspaper, a soldier serving compulsory military service sustained critical injuries after shooting himself inside a base and was pronounced dead Tuesday evening in a hospital.

A military statement earlier said that a soldier was seriously injured in a shooting at a military base in northern Israel and was taken to the hospital, where he later died, noting that the military police had opened an investigation into the incident.

A total of 279 Israeli soldiers have attempted to commit suicide from the beginning of 2024 until July 2025, amounting to roughly one completed suicide for every seven attempts, according to a report by the Knesset Research and Information Center.

The Israeli army earlier confirmed that 48 soldiers had taken their own lives during military service since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023.

At least 13 soldiers also died of suicide outside military service due to psychological problems, including six since the beginning of this year; raising the total number of suicides since the start of the war to 61, Haaretz said.

Twenty Israeli soldiers died by suicide in 2024, and 16 others since the beginning of this year until July, Haaretz reported, noting that since then at least four additional soldiers have taken their own lives.

In October, Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir acknowledged a worsening mental health crisis within the army, saying thousands of soldiers were receiving psychological treatment. He urged commanders to stay alert, detect mental health problems within their units, and ensure that soldiers seek immediate treatment.

Nearly 10,000 Israeli soldiers out of 19,000 injured in Gaza are suffering from psychological disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder and are being treated at the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department, according to a previous report by the public broadcaster KAN published in late July.

Israel has killed nearly 70,700 victims, mostly women and children, and injured more than 171,000 in Gaza since October 2023 and reduced the enclave to rubble according to Anadolu.