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LAST UPDATE | 25 Aug
FIVE JOURNALISTS ARE among at least 20 people killed by Israeli strikes on a hospital in the south of Gaza this morning.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said that Israeli strikes hit Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis.
An Israeli explosive drone targeted a building at Nasser Hospital followed by an airstrike as the wounded were being evacuated.
Five journalists are among the people killed by the Israeli strikes on the hospital today.
Al Jazeera confirmed one of its journalists was killed: Mohammad Salama, a photojournalist and cameraman.
Another of the journalists killed was 33-year-old Mariam Dagga, a broadcast journalist who had worked for The Associated Press since the start of the war.
She was a freelancer who recently reported on Nasser Hospital doctors struggling to save children with no prior health issues who were dying or wasting away from starvation.
The Associated Press said it was “shocked and saddened” to learn of her death.
Reuters confirmed that one of its contractors, cameraman Hussam al-Masri, was also killed in the strikes by Israel on the hospital.
Earlier, a Reuters article named photographer Hatem Khaled as having been among the dead, but it has since clarified that Khaled suffered injuries in the attack.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate named two other journalists killed as Moaz Abu Taha and Ahmad Abu Aziz.
In a statement, Al Jazeera Media Network said that it “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”.
A spokesperson for Reuters said that the news agency is “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 said.
Earlier this month, four Al Jazeera staff and two freelancers were killed in an Israeli air strike outside Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, prompting widespread condemnation.
In total, around 200 journalists have been killed in Gaza since October 2023.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has condemned the attacks on Nasser Hospital, with INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha calling them “shameful”.
“We are yet again witnessing very deliberate breaches of international humanitarian law in the targeting of hospitals and healthcare workers,” Ní Sheaghdha said.
“The combination of man-made famine, starvation-induced deaths, and sustained attacks on health facilities illustrates the systematic destruction of an entire society with no accountability. This famine is preventable, and such suffering must never be weaponised,” she said.
“Our fellow nurses, midwives and healthcare workers in Gaza need immediate international intervention. They are continuing to try to provide life-saving care despite relentless targeting of their workplaces and incredibly difficult prognoses.
“Healthcare workers, including nurses and midwives, working in conflict zones must be protected as they try bravely and desperately to sustain life in impossible and dangerous circumstances. Those who target them, their patients, and workplaces must be held accountable and brought to justice.”
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”.
Contains additional reporting by AFP and Press Association
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