At least 20 people were killed in Israeli attacks on Monday, targeting Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense Agency. The dead included five journalists and a civil defense worker.
Agency spokesman Mahmoud Bassal said “five journalists and a member of the civil defense” were killed when an Israeli drone struck a building in the hospital compound, followed by another airstrike during an evacuation. Nasser Hospital is one of the last partially operational medical centers in Gaza, which has been targeted several times during the Israel-Hamas war that has been going on for nearly two years.
Media organizations around the world have confirmed the deaths of their journalists. Al Jazeera mourned the death of its cameraman Mohammed Salama, calling it “a horrific crime” and accusing Israeli forces of carrying out “a systematic campaign to suppress the truth.” The Associated Press expressed “deep shock and sadness” at the death of Mariam Dagga, a 33-year-old freelance visual journalist. Reuters confirmed the death of its contract journalist Hussam al-Masri and said another journalist, Hatem Khaled, was injured.
The Palestinian Journalists Union identified the other journalists killed as Muaz Abu Taha and Ahmed Abu Aziz. Abu Taha had worked with both local and international media houses.
In retaliation, the Israeli army confirmed it had “carried out an attack in the Nasser Hospital area” and announced the launch of a preliminary investigation into the incident. In its statement, the army said, “The army did not aim to harm any innocent person and did not target journalists.”
AFP video footage of the aftermath of the attack showed smoke surrounding the hospital, and bloodied bodies and severed limbs being carried inside. The injured included a medical worker wearing scrubs.
According to media monitoring organizations such as the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders, nearly 200 journalists have been killed since the start of the conflict in October 2023. The conflict began when Hamas attacks killed 1,219 people in Israel. In response, Israeli attacks have killed more than 62,700 Palestinians, most of them civilians.
