Luxembourg paid tribute to Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif, killed in a targeted strike in Gaza, with speakers condemning Israel's justification for his death and highlighting the ongoing suffering of civilians.
28-year-old journalist Anas al-Sharif, who became one of the most recognisable faces of Al Jazeera's coverage from Gaza, was killed, along with his crew, in what was described as a targeted Israeli drone strike on Sunday.
Al-Sharif had continued to report on the worsening conditions in Gaza despite receiving threats. On Tuesday evening in Luxembourg City, candles were lit, flowers laid and photographs displayed at Hamilius to honour him and more than 225 other journalists who have lost their lives since the start of the conflict.
Israel had long accused al-Sharif of being linked to Hamas, a claim widely criticised in recent days, including at the commemoration in Luxembourg. Cléo Thoma from Collectives for Palestine argued that it was deeply troubling when a government used such allegations as a pretext to kill people who voice inconvenient truths.
Fahdi, a young Palestinian living in Luxembourg, expressed a similar view, saying that Israel always seemed to have an explanation for why journalists were killed. In his view, al-Sharif was targeted not because of any militant affiliation but because he exposed the reality on the ground – a reality in which, Fahdi said, people in Gaza are being left to starve.
Fahdi's own family remains in Gaza. He tries to stay in regular contact with his sister and brother, though his mother has since passed away, nearly a year ago. He recalled that this was seven months after he had asked the Luxembourg government to help evacuate his family to Egypt. He admitted he often wonders how his mother's final months might have been different had he received another answer back then.
