Five journalists among 20 killed in Israeli strike on Gaza hospital
According to Anadolou, five journalists who lost their lives include Palestine TV cameraman Hussam al-Masri, Al Jazeera photographer Mohammad Salama, photojournalists Mariam Abu Daqqa and Moaz Abu Taha, and reporter Ahmed Abu Aziz, who succumbed to injuries hours after the strike.
At least 20 Palestinians, including five journalists and a firefighter, were killed on Monday after Israeli airstrikes hit the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, local officials have reported.
Reports indicate that the strikes hit the hospital's emergency wing twice. The first strike damaged the fourth floor while the second killed rescuers as they worked to move the wounded.
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A fire engine driver also died when his crew came under fire while attempting to recover bodies from the hospital. Seven other rescuers were also injured.
According to Anadolou, five journalists who lost their lives include Palestine TV cameraman Hussam al-Masri, Al Jazeera photographer Mohammad Salama, photojournalists Mariam Abu Daqqa and Moaz Abu Taha, and reporter Ahmed Abu Aziz, who succumbed to injuries hours after the strike.
"The journalist colleagues were martyred when the Israeli occupation committed a horrific crime by bombing a group of journalists who were on a press coverage mission at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis Governorate, and many martyrs fell victim to this crime," Gaza's Media Office said in a statement.
"We hold the Israeli occupation, the American administration, and the countries participating in the genocide crime, such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, fully responsible for committing these heinous, brutal crimes."
Reporters Without Borders condemned the Israeli strikes and called for immediate action by the UN Security Council to halt the killings.
“RSF is once again calling for an emergency UN Security Council Meeting to end this massacre of journalists,” the group said.
Their deaths raised the number of journalists killed in Gaza since October 2023 to at least 245, according to Gaza health officials.
The attack is the latest in a series of incidents targeting journalists reporting on the Gaza war. Earlier this month, six Al Jazeera staff were killed in Gaza City, with Israel later alleging, without providing evidence, that one of the victims was a Hamas commander.
According to media watchdogs, more than 500 journalists and media staff have been injured, displaced or forced into exile since the war began in October 2023..
While Israel denies deliberately targeting reporters, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) have condemned the killings and called for independent international investigations.
A recent joint review of Israeli intelligence has found that civilians make up the vast majority of deaths in Gaza, with women, children and the elderly accounting for about 83 per cent of those killed.
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