An Israeli airstrike hit the fourth floor of southern Gaza’s main hospital Monday, killing at least 20 people, Gaza’s health ministry said.
Gaza's civil defence agency said five journalists were among at least 20 people killed Monday when Israeli strikes hit a hospital in the south, with Reuters, The Associated Press and Al Jazeera mourning their slain contributors.
The ministry said the victims on the fourth floor of Nasser Hospital were killed in a double-tap strike — one missile hitting first, then another moments later as rescue crews arrived.
Khan Younis’ Nasser Hospital, the largest in southern Gaza, has withstood raids and bombardment throughout 22 months of war, with officials citing critical shortages of supplies and staff.
Israel’s military did not immediately respond to questions about the strike.
Among the five journalists who were killed, Mariam Daqqa, 33 freelanced for the AP since the Gaza war began, as well as other news outlets.
Dagga, who has a 12-year-old son who was evacuated from Gaza earlier in the war, frequently based herself at Nasser, most recently reporting on the hospital's doctors struggling to save children from starvation.
The Associated Press said in a statement that it was "shocked and saddened" to learn of the death of Mariam Dagga, 33, a visual journalist who had freelanced for the agency since the start of the war.
Al Jazeera confirmed that its journalist Mohammed Salam was among those who were killed in the Nasser hospital strike. Reuters reported that its contractor cameraman Hussam al-Masri was also killed in the strike. Photographer Hatem Khaled, who was also a Reuters contractor, was wounded, the news agency reported.
"Al Jazeera Media Network condemns, in the strongest possible terms, this horrific crime committed by the Israeli occupation forces, who have directly targeted and assassinated journalists as part of a systematic campaign to silence the truth," the broadcaster said in a statement.
A spokesperson for Reuters said: "We are devastated to learn of the death of Reuters contractor Hussam al-Masri and injuries to another of our contractors, Hatem Khaled, in Israeli strikes on the Nasser hospital in Gaza today."
"We are urgently seeking more information and have asked authorities in Gaza and Israel to help us get urgent medical assistance for Hatem," the spokesperson added in a statement.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate also named two other victims as Moaz Abu Taha and Ahmad Abu Aziz.
According to AFP journalists, Abu Taha had worked with some Palestinian and international outlets.
The Israel-Hamas has been one of the bloodiest conflicts for media workers, with a total of at least 200 journalists killed in Gaza in the 22-month conflict, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Comparatively, 18 journalists have been killed so far in the Russia-Ukraine war, according to the CPJ.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and Israeli military refused to comment on the incident.
The Israeli military later said its troops carried out a strike in the area of Nasser Hospital and that it would conduct an investigation into the incident. The military said it “regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and does not target journalists as such.”
Thibaut Bruttin, the director general of Reporters Without Borders, said press freedom advocates had never seen such a severe step backward for reporters’ safety. He noted that journalists have been killed both in indiscriminate strikes and in targeted attacks that Israel’s military has acknowledged carrying out.
“They are doing everything they can to silence independent voices that are trying to report on Gaza,” Bruttin said.
Israel’s attacks on hospitals are not in comment in its war against Hamas in Gaza. Multiple hospitals were struck or raided across the strip with Israel claiming attacking militants operating from inside the medical facilities without providing evidence.
A June strike on Nasser hospital killed three people and wounded 10. At the time Israeli military said it had precisely struck Hamas militants operating from within a command and control center at the hospital.
(With inputs from AP, AFP)
