Al Jazeera has denied Israeli military claims that its correspondent Anas al-Sharif, killed in an air strike on Gaza City on Sunday, was a "senior Hamas operative".
The pan-Arab broadcaster described the Israeli accusation as "baseless" and "a deliberate attempt to justify the killing of journalists", calling for an independent investigation.
The 28-year-old reporter was among six journalists killed when an Israeli missile hit a press tent near Al-Shifa Hospital.
Israeli forces claimed intelligence gathered during ground operations in Gaza linked al-Sharif to Hamas’s military wing since 2013, alleging he was the commander of a rocket-launching squad.
Military spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani claimed the army had obtained "rosters, training lists and salary records" showing he received monthly payments from Hamas while working for Al Jazeera.
The military released copies of what it said were internal documents, including a phone directory listing al-Sharif under a code name in Hamas's elite Nukhba forces.
It is not known if the evidence was fabricated or referred to another man named Anas al-Sharif. The release of the purported documents came as Israel faces global outrage over the killing of the six journalists.
Al Jazeera dismissed the claims and said that Israel fabricated allegations to deflect from war crimes and a pattern of targeting its staff in Gaza.
The broadcaster said the strike on its journalists was "premeditated" and intended to silence coverage as Israel steps up military operations in the north of the Strip.
It said claims of militant activity were "unsubstantiated" and noted that no independent body had verified the authenticity of the Israeli forces' documents.
Israel has banned international media from Gaza unless embedded with the military, while the war has been the bloodiest for media workers in history , with at least 242 media workers killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the UN, nearly all of them Palestinians targeted in Israeli attacks.
International mourning and condemnation
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, urged Israel to provide "clear evidence" to support its assertions, joining a chorus of governments and rights groups demanding an impartial inquiry.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the killings and called for journalists to be protected under international law.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said Israel’s allegations lacked credible proof and warned of a growing trend of "smear campaigns" against reporters killed in the conflict.
The Israeli army did not comment on accusations over affiliations of the other five journalists killed alongside al-Sharif, including Mohammed Qraiqea, Ibrahim Zaher, Moamen Aliwa, Mohammed Noufal and freelancer Mohammad al-Khaldi.
Al Jazeera said they were covering the situation around the hospital when the strike occurred. Vigils were held in Ramallah and other cities on Monday, with mourners holding pictures of the dead reporters.
In a message written months before his death and published posthumously, al-Sharif told his followers: "If these words reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice. Do not forget Gaza."
His killing comes days after Israel approved a widely condemned plan to seize full control of Gaza City and relocate more than one million Palestinians to the south.