What is the role of journalism when Palestinian reporters are treated as criminals and left to die? Last October, I spoke with the journalist Hossam Shabat. He described families packing what little they had left in northern Gaza as Israel began implementing its “generals’ plan”. Six months later, Shabat was dead – killed by Israel, accused of being a Hamas operative.

Israel does not try to hide these killings. Instead, it often smears its victims in advance – branding journalists as “terrorists”, accusations that are rarely substantiated. These labels serve a clear cause: to strip reporters of their civilian status and make their killing appear morally acceptable. Journalists are not legitimate targets. Killing them is a war crime.

The latest round shook the world: five Al Jazeera journalists were assassinated in a press tent in Gaza City, among them Anas al-Sharif, whose face had become familiar to anyone following Gaza up close. Both the UN and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) had warned that al-Sharif’s life was in danger. Weeks later, he was dead.

Meanwhile, a growing consensus recognises Gaza as the site of a livestreamed genocide. Yet in Germany – a country that prides itself on having learned the lessons of its own genocidal history – some of the most powerful media institutions have played a part in enabling Israel’s actions. Some German journalists have even justified the killing of their Palestinian colleagues.

The clearest example is Axel Springer, Europe’s largest publisher and owner of Bild, Germany’s biggest newspaper. Hours after the killing of al-Sharif became public, Bild splashed his image under this headline: “Terrorist disguised as journalist killed in Gaza” (which was later changed to “Journalist killed was allegedly a terrorist”). Let that sink in.

About a week........

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