Gaza strip
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.
In a statement, the Israeli military said its troops on Monday “carried out a strike in the area of Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis … we regret any harm to uninvolved individuals and does not target journalists as such”.
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 Al Jazeera said that one of its photojournalists and cameramen, Mohammad Salama, was killed in the attack.
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. 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.”
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate named two other victims as Moaz Abu Taha and Ahmad Abu Aziz. AFP footage from the immediate aftermath of the attack showed smoke filling the air and debris from the blast on the floor outside the hospital.
Palestinians rushed to help the victims, carrying bloodied corpses and severed body parts into the medical complex. One body could be seen dangling from the top floor of the targeted building as a man screamed below.
Nasser Hospital is one of the last remaining health facilities in the Gaza Strip that is at least partially functioning.
Later in the day, a crowd carried the bodies of some of the slain journalists at a funeral in Khan Yunis, with the dead wrapped in white burial shrouds and their press flak jackets resting on top.