GAZA: At least 20 people, among them five journalists, were killed on Monday when Israeli strikes hit Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza’s civil defence reported. The medical complex, one of the few still functioning in the enclave, has been repeatedly targeted since the war began.
Civil defence spokesperson Mahmud Bassal said an Israeli explosive drone struck a hospital building, followed by an air raid that hit as the wounded were being evacuated. One civil defence worker was also among the dead.
Global media organisations confirmed the deaths of their contributors. Al Jazeera said its photojournalist Mohammad Salama was killed, calling the attack a deliberate attempt to silence reporting. The Associated Press mourned the loss of Mariam Dagga, a 33-year-old visual journalist who had freelanced for the agency since the war began. Reuters said contractor Hussam al-Masri was killed and another, Hatem Khaled, critically injured. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate also identified Moaz Abu Taha and Ahmad Abu Aziz among the slain.
The Israeli military acknowledged carrying out a strike in the area but said it does not target journalists and has launched an inquiry. The Foreign Press Association demanded an immediate explanation, condemning what it called the ongoing targeting of media workers.
Footage from the aftermath showed smoke, debris, and bodies being carried into the hospital, with survivors frantically searching for loved ones. Funerals were held later in Khan Yunis, where slain journalists were laid to rest with their press jackets placed on their shrouds.
According to media watchdogs, nearly 200 journalists have been killed during the nearly two-year war. The conflict, sparked by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, has since claimed over 62,000 Palestinian lives, the majority of them civilians, according to Gaza’s health ministry figures regarded as credible by the United Nations.
