Journalist’s brave act as he broadcasts news of ceasefire in Gaza
Palestinian journalist Anas Al-Sharif was finally able to remove his body armour after reporting from Gaza for 15 months.
In emotional footage widely shared online, the 28-year-old reporter for Al Jazeera slowly took off his armoured press vest and helmet to cheers of ‘Allahu Akbar’.
‘I can finally take off this helmet, which has exhausted me all this time, and also this armour, which has become a part of my body,’ he said.
‘Now we announce from inside Gaza City, the ceasefire to all citizens and residents of the Gaza Strip.’
160 journalists have been killed during the conflict.
Since war broke out between Hamas and Israel, at least 46,707 Palestinians and over 1,200 Israelis have died.
After a deadly 15 months, Palestinians lifted the journalist on their shoulders and cheered at the news about the ceasefire agreement.
The vast majority of journalists killed in the conflict have been Palestinians.
The Committee to Protect Journalists found that at least 13 media workers were directly targeted by Israeli forces, despite wearing marked press clothing.
The Geneva Conventions Article 79 of the Additional Protocol reads: ‘journalists engaged in dangerous professional missions in armed conflict areas shall be considered civilians … [and] shall be protected […] and without prejudice to the right of war correspondents accredited to the armed forces’.
Israel also barred foreign journalists from entering the Gaza Strip.
The video of Al-Sharif taking off his armour comes as Qatar’s prime minister announced a pause in Israel’s bombardment will begin on January 19.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that the final details of the deal with Hamas were still being sorted out.
There are hopes the ceasefire could eventually bring an end to the bloodiest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas.
After more than a year of bombardment, much of Gaza now appears uninhabitable, with bombed-out buildings and mounds of rubble stretching as far as the eye can see.
Around 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people has been displaced, and hundreds of thousands are struggling with hunger and disease in squalid tent camps on the coast, according to United Nations officials.
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