This Beloved Palestinian Journalist Removed His Press Vest Live On TV As He Announced The Ceasefire In Gaza
“I can take off this helmet that has exhausted me throughout this period. And also this vest which became a part of my body during this long period, and that used to accompany me through this period."
In a moving moment, Anas al-Sharif, a Palestinian journalist who has been reporting in Gaza throughout the 467 days of Israel’s genocide, took off his press helmet and vest as he announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to a ceasefire agreement.
“I can take off this helmet that has exhausted me throughout this period. And also this vest which became a part of my body during this long period, and that used to accompany me through this period,” al-Sharif said in an emotional video while reporting for Al Jazeera from Gaza on Wednesday, Jan. 15.
He has been relentlessly covering the 15 months of Israel’s genocide in Gaza despite threats from Israel against him and his family to stop reporting, according to Al Jazeera.
Israel killed al-Sharif’s 65-year-old father in his home in north Gaza in Dec. 2023.
Al-Sharif has also lost over 204 of his colleagues due to Israel’s targeting of journalists including many of his Al Jazeera colleagues, including his friend and colleague, Ismail al-Ghoul, cameraman Rami al-Refee, Samer Abudaqa and Hamza Al-Dahdouh, the cameraman and son respectively of Al Jazeera’s bureau chief in Gaza, Wael Al-Dahdouh, who was also targeted and wounded by an Israeli airstrike,
Al-Sharif was particularly noted for his reporting from North Gaza in recent months, becoming one of the few Palestinian journalists who stayed behind while Israel besieged the north and conducted what many called an ethnic cleansing operation.
He was finally able to announce the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas that is expected to take effect on Sunday, Jan. 19.
However, the deal is pending Israeli cabinet approval as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the cabinet will not convene as scheduled to endorse the agreement, citing a “last-minute crisis” caused by Hamas, Al Jazeera reported.
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