At least 15 people, including four journalists, were killed Monday when Israeli strikes hit Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza’s civil defence agency said.
Agency spokesperson Mahmud Bassal reported that the dead included a civil defence worker. He said the hospital complex was first targeted by an Israeli explosive drone before an air strike struck as rescuers evacuated the wounded.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate confirmed the deaths, saying the reporters were killed “in the line of journalistic duty” during the strike on the hospital. The group identified them as photojournalists Hossam al-Masri, Mohammad Salama, and Mariam Dagga, along with journalist Moaz Abu Taha.
Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera confirmed that its cameraman, Mohammad Salama, was among the dead. Associated Press said Dagga had contributed as a freelancer, though she was not on assignment at the time of her death. Reuters reported that one of the victims and another injured journalist were working for the agency on contract.
AFP footage from the aftermath showed thick smoke, shattered glass, and bloodied victims being rushed into the hospital. Witnesses described scenes of chaos, with bodies carried in on stretchers and one victim left dangling from the upper floor of the damaged building. A woman in medical scrubs, badly wounded and bloodied, was among those evacuated.
The Israeli military said it was “checking reports” of the strike when asked by AFP. Independent verification of the toll and circumstances remains difficult due to media restrictions and limited access in Gaza.
The latest deaths add to the growing toll of journalists killed during the nearly two-year conflict between Israel and Hamas. Media watchdogs, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders, estimate that around 200 media workers have been killed since the war began.
Earlier this month, four Al Jazeera employees and two freelancers were killed in a separate Israeli air strike outside Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. Israel later claimed one of those killed, prominent correspondent Anas al-Sharif, was a Hamas operative involved in planning rocket attacks. CPJ strongly rejected the allegation, warning that “journalists are civilians” and stressing that deliberately targeting them constitutes a war crime.
The war erupted after Hamas’s October 2023 assault on Israel, which killed 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures compiled by AFP. In response, Israel launched a large-scale offensive in Gaza that has since killed at least 62,686 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry that the United Nations deems credible.
