An Al Jazeera journalist who perished in the Gaza Strip due to an Israeli airstrike was claimed by the Israel Defense Forces to have been the leader of a Hamas “terrorist cell.”

Anas Al-Sharif and four others, identified by Al Jazeera as correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa, lost their lives Sunday. This incident, described by the Qatari-based network as a “targeted Israeli attack,” occurred in a tent in Gaza City where journalists were gathered.

The Israeli military reported, “The IDF targeted Anas Al-Sharif, who masqueraded as a journalist for Al Jazeera.” According to them, Al-Sharif was head of a Hamas cell responsible for initiating rocket attacks against both Israeli civilians and IDF personnel.

The IDF mentioned it had previously shared intelligence and a trove of documents from the Gaza Strip that confirmed Al-Sharif’s military ties to Hamas, asserting that the Al Jazeera network had attempted to distance itself from this connection.