For over a year and a half, Anas Jamal al-Sharif refused to leave northern Gaza, documenting the destruction and loss that others tried to hide. Tonight, Israel silenced his voice — but his final words, written on April 6, will echo far beyond his death.
Gaza City—August 11, 2025
In the early hours just after midnight, Israeli forces carried out a deadly strike on a tent used by the Al Jazeera news crew near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, killing the entire team. Among the killed was veteran Palestinian journalist Anas Jamal al-Sharif, long targeted by Israeli threats for his decision to remain in northern Gaza and continue reporting on and showing the world Israel’s war crimes.
Shortly after his death, the administrators of his official Facebook page published the following message, which he had prepared as his final will and testament should he be killed:
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.
First, peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you.
God knows that I have given everything I possess, every effort and every ounce of strength, to be a support and a voice for my people, ever since I opened my eyes to life in the alleys and streets of the Jabalia refugee camp. My hope was that God would grant me enough years to 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.
I have lived through pain in all its details, and I have tasted loss and grief many times. Yet I never once hesitated to convey the truth exactly as it was, without falsification or distortion, so that God may bear witness against those who stayed silent, those who accepted our killing, those who suffocated our breath, and those whose hearts were unmoved by the torn bodies of our children and women, and who did nothing to stop the massacre our people have endured for more than a year and a half.
I entrust you with Palestine, the jewel of the crown of Muslims, and the heartbeat of every free soul in this world.
I entrust you with its people and with its wronged, innocent children, who were not given enough time in life to dream or live in safety and peace—whose pure bodies were crushed beneath thousands of tons of Israeli bombs and missiles, torn apart and scattered against the walls.
I entrust you not to be silenced by chains, nor held back by borders. Be bridges toward the liberation of land and people, until the sun of dignity and freedom rises over our usurped homeland.
I entrust you with my family, to treat them well.
I entrust you with the apple of my eye, my beloved daughter, Sham, whom the days did not allow me to watch grow as I had always dreamed.
And I entrust you with my dear son, Salah, whom I wished to stand beside and guide until he became strong enough to bear my burdens and carry on the mission.
I entrust you with my beloved mother, whose blessed prayers brought me to where I am, whose supplications were my fortress, and whose light was my path. I pray that God strengthens her heart and rewards her for me with the best of rewards.
And I entrust you also with my lifelong companion, my beloved wife, Umm Salah, Bayan, whom the war separated from me for long days and months, yet she remained faithful to the covenant, steadfast like the trunk of an olive tree that does not bend, patient and steadfast, carrying the trust in my absence with all her strength and faith.
I entrust you to gather around them and to be their support after God Almighty.
If I die, I die steadfast upon the principle, and I bear witness before God that I am content with His decree, faithful in meeting Him, and certain that what is with God is better and everlasting.
O God, 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 with mercy, for I have kept my covenant and have neither changed nor altered.
Do not forget Gaza…
And do not forget me in your sincere prayers for forgiveness and acceptance.
Anas Jamal al-Sharif
06 April 2025
Published posthumously by his page administrators upon his martyrdom.
