An Israeli air strike on Gaza City late on Sunday killed five journalists working for Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based news network said, in an attack that also claimed two other lives.

The network said the journalists – reporter Anas al-Sharif, Mohamed Krikeh, cameraman Ibrahim Zaher, Moamen Aliwa and Mohamed Noufal – were inside a tent for reporters near the main gate of Al-Shifa Hospital when the strike hit.

Al Jazeera condemned the killings, calling them an attack on journalists carrying out their duty. The National Press Club in Washington also expressed condolences. Al-Sharif, 28, had been reporting from northern Gaza for years and was a well-known figure in Middle East journalism. A final message posted on his social media account after his death read: “If these words reach you, know that Israel has killed me and silenced my voice.”

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged targeting Al-Sharif, calling him a “terrorist” and alleging he was a senior operative in Hamas’s military wing. “Hamas terrorist Anas al-Sharif, who presented himself as an Al Jazeera journalist, was targeted. Intelligence, training rosters and payroll documents confirm his affiliation,” the IDF said in a statement.

Al Jazeera has rejected such claims in the past, saying its journalists are being targeted for their reporting. The strike drew condemnation from rights groups and governments worldwide. Australia, which plans to recognise Palestine as an independent state next month at the United Nations General Assembly, also voiced concern over attacks on journalists.