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.
Al Jazeera correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohamed Qraiqea were killed Sunday, along with three other Al Jazeera journalists, in an Israeli strike targeting a journalists’ tent near the Al-Shifa Hospital in western Gaza City, according to the Gaza Media Office.
The Qatar-based channel quoted the director of the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza who said, “Al Jazeera correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohamed Qraiqea were martyred in an Israeli strike on their tent,” without providing details.
The channel later confirmed that al-Sharif and Qraiqea were killed in an Israeli strike.
Al Jazeera Media Network early Monday condemned the “planned” assassination of its correspondents and cameramen in the Gaza Strip, calling it “a desperate attempt to silence voices ahead of the occupation of Gaza.”
“The order to kill Anas al-Sharif, one of Gaza’s bravest journalists, and his colleagues is a desperate attempt to silence voices ahead of the occupation of Gaza,” it said.
Al Jazeera’s statement noted that “many Israeli army officials repeatedly incited and called for targeting Anas al-Sharif and his colleagues,” as it held “the occupation army and its government responsible for targeting and assassinating its team.”
The statement added that “the assassination of our correspondents by the Israeli occupation forces is another blatant and deliberate attack on press freedom.”
The Gaza Media Office announced in a statement that the number of journalists killed since the start of Israel’s genocide in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, has risen to 237, following the killing of al-Sharif and Qraiqea, along with three other journalists.
It identified the other journalists killed as photojournalists Ibrahim Dahir and Moumin Alaywa and an assistant photojournalist Mohammed Noufal.
“The assassination was carried out with premeditation and deliberation, through a deliberate, intentional, and direct targeting of the journalists’ tent in the vicinity of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. This heinous crime also resulted in the injury of several other fellow journalists,” it added
The Director of the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City, Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, told Anadolu that the deaths from the strike on the tent in front of the complex’s gate have risen to seven, including five journalists.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army admitted in a statement to killing al-Sharif in Gaza City, while ignoring the killing of Qraiqea and the three other journalists in the same strike.
In his will that was written Aug. 6, which he requested be published after his death, al-Sharif wrote: “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. Peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings.”
“Allah knows that I gave all the effort and strength I had to be a support and a voice for my people, ever since I opened my eyes to life in the alleys and streets of Jabalia refugee camp. My hope was that God would prolong my life so I could return with my family and loved ones to our original hometown of occupied Asqalan (al-Majdal), but God’s will came first, and His decree is carried out,” he said.
“I have lived pain in all its forms, and tasted grief and loss many times. Yet I never hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification, hoping that Allah would bear witness against those who remained silent, those who accepted our killing, those who suffocated our breath, and whose hearts were unmoved by the scattered bodies of our children and women, and who did not stop the massacre our people have been subjected to for more than a year and a half.
“I urge you to hold fast to Palestine, the jewel in the crown of Muslims, and the heartbeat of every free person in this world.
“I urge you to care for its people, for its wronged little children who were not given enough time in life to dream or to live in safety and peace, whose pure bodies were crushed beneath thousands of tons of Israeli bombs and missiles, torn apart and scattered across the walls.
“I urge you not to let chains silence you, nor borders hold you back. Be bridges toward the liberation of the land and its people, until the sun of dignity and freedom rises over our usurped homeland.
“I urge you to care for my family. Take care of the apple of my eye, my beloved daughter Sham, whom the days did not allow me to watch grow up as I had dreamed as reported by Anadolu.
“And care for my dear son Salah, whom I had hoped to support and walk beside until he grew strong enough to carry my burdens and continue the mission.
“I urge you to care for my beloved mother, whose blessed prayers carried me to where I am, whose supplications were my fortress and whose light guided my path. I pray that Allah will comfort her heart and reward her abundantly on my behalf.
“Also take care for my life partner, my beloved wife, Umm Salah, Bayan, from whom the war separated me for long days and months, yet she remained true to our bond, steadfast like the trunk of an olive tree that does not bend, patient and trusting in Allah, carrying the responsibility in my absence with all strength and faith.
“I urge you to stand by them and be their support after Allah Almighty. If I die, then I die steadfast in my principles, and I bear witness before Allah that I am content with His decree, faithful in meeting Him, and certain that what is with Allah is better and everlasting.
“O Allah, accept me among the martyrs, forgive me my past and future sins, and make my blood a light that illuminates the path of freedom for my people and my family. Forgive me if I have fallen short, and pray for me to receive mercy, for I have remained true to the covenant, never changing or wavering.
“Do not forget Gaza … And do not forget me in your sincere prayers for forgiveness and acceptance,” he wrote..
Israel is facing mounting condemnation for its genocidal war on Gaza, where it has killed more than 61,000 victims since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave and brought it to the verge of famine.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
Residents of Gaza have criticized the international community online, citing its complicity and inaction in response to the Israeli-made blockade that has led to widespread starvation in the enclave, with people collapsing in the streets due to severe hunger.
Taking to social media, Gazans are sharing a unified message with the world: “We are dying of hunger” and “Gaza is starving.”
Journalist Anas al-Sharif wrote in X: “I have not stopped reporting for a single moment over the past 21 months. Today, I speak with deep pain and honesty: I am weakened by hunger, shaking from exhaustion, and constantly battling the urge to faint… Gaza is dying—and we are dying with it.”
“If the world does not act today, there may be no one left tomorrow to hope for rescue. Gaza is starving.”
Journalists also held a vigil to protest the Israeli suffocating blockade, chanting, “Gaza residents are dying of hunger.
Journalists in Gaza hold a vigil to protest against the ongoing Israeli crimes and starvation war against innocent Palestinians. pic.twitter.com/M06zLMXBjS
Journalist Abdallah al-Attar wrote: “I’m a journalist writing this, and tears are falling from my eyes. I’m hungry, and there’s nothing to eat. This little girl, Amal Al-Bayouk, is dying of hunger right before our eyes. We appealed to the whole world to help her get treatment abroad, but no one listened! Every day, we say goodbye to a child because of hunger, and if things stay like this… it will be our turn next.”
Ahmed Jomaa, a YouTuber from Gaza, shared a photo of himself with a banner that reads, “Gaza is starving.
“If things keep going like this for a few more days, we’ll all starve to death,” photojournalist Omar El Qattaa wrote.
How can we eat when our children are starving? How can we smile when our brothers and sisters in Gaza are shedding tears? How can we walk the streets when Gaza is under siege? How can we drink water when the people in Gaza are suffering from thirst? pic.twitter.com/tpi6McfXEy
— Aprajita Nefes 🦋 Ancient Believer (@aprajitanefes) July 20, 2025
“During the first famine campaign by Israel in northern Gaza, people were eating animal feed and barley. But now, in this second famine, even that’s gone… And whatever is available, you need to take out a loan just to afford it every time you go to the market,” Samah Ahmed said.
“My son has been crying. He’s hungry. There’s not even any food to buy!” a desperate father screams in the middle of a market in Gaza.
Several videos circulating on social media show children in Gaza searching through rubbish for food. One video shows three children standing and eating from a pile of garbage on the street.
A mother posted a video of her little daughter crying for food, repeatedly saying “food, food,” and adding, “I will not forgive anyone complicit in our starvation.”
“We are living in a real famine,” 11-year-old Renad Attallah wrote on Instagram.
Renad Attallah : Non mentiamo quando diciamo che stiamo vivendo una vera carestia, abbiamo finito tutto quello che è commestibile, niente da mangiare letteralmente! #Gazapic.twitter.com/PudejXuJnT
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