Five journalists among 20 killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza hospital

GAZA CITY, (Palestinian Territories): 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.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said “the toll so far is 20 martyrs, including five journalists and one member of the civil defence”, after strikes hit Khan Yunis’s Nasser Hospital — a large medical complex that has been targeted several times by Israel since the start of the war.

According to the media watchdogs Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders, around 200 journalists have been killed in nearly two years of war between Israel and Hamas.

In a statement, the Israeli military said its troops on Monday “carried out a strike in the area of Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis”.

“The Chief of the General Staff instructed to conduct an initial inquiry as soon as possible,” it said, adding it “regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and does not target journalists as such”.

The civil defence’s Bassal said an Israeli explosive drone targeted a building at the hospital, followed by an air strike as the wounded were being evacuated.

A spokesperson for Qatar-based TV network Al Jazeera said on Monday that one of its photojournalists and cameramen, Mohammad Salama, was killed in the attack.

“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.

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.

In an earlier statement, it said Dagga had not been on an assignment with the agency when she was killed.

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 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.