Fury as 5 reporters among 19 dead in Israeli strike on Gaza hospital

An Israeli attack in southern Gaza has killed 19 people, including five journalists, leading to global condemnation of the mounting toll of media workers killed in the conflict.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his regret on Monday over what he called the “tragic mishap that occurred today at the Nasser Hospital.”

Among those killed in the hospital in Khan Younis were five journalists working for outlets such as Reuters, the Associated Press and Al Jazeera.

The Hamas-controlled health authority in the territory said 20 people died.

The attacks have provoked outrage worldwide, with the German Foreign Office writing on X: “We are shocked by the killing of several journalists, rescue workers and other civilians in an Israeli airstrike on the Nasser Hospital in Gaza.”

The Foreign Press Association in Israel (FPA) called on the Israeli military to “once and for all to halt its abhorrent practice of targeting journalists.”

“This has gone on far too long,” the organization said. “Too many journalists in Gaza have been killed by Israel without justification.”

The victims of Monday’s attack bring the total number of journalists killed in the devastated coastal territory since the start of the war to almost 200, most of them Palestinians, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The Palestinian Journalists’ Union spoke of a “continuing Israeli campaign against journalists aimed at silencing Palestinian accounts.”

Earlier in August, four Al Jazeera employees were killed in Gaza City, with Israel’s military confirming the death of correspondent Anas al-Sharif.

Details emerge of bloody incident

The hospital in Khan Younis said the victims were hit while on the fourth floor.

According to the FPA, the strikes “hit the exterior staircase of the hospital where journalists frequently stationed themselves with their cameras” and “came with no warning.”

The FPA named the media workers killed as Hossam al-Masri, Mariam Abu-Daqqz, Mohammed Salama, Moaz Abu Taha and Ahmed Abu Aziz.

The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that emergency workers were also among the dead.

Eyewitnesses said that after paramedics and civil defence workers rushed to the scene, a second attack followed.

Video footage of the bloody incident circulated on social media, with broadcaster al-Ghad publishing a video showing a group of people being hit, reportedly during the second attack.

In a statement, the Israeli military said troops had carried out a strike in the area of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis and that an inquiry into the incident has been ordered.

“The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and does not target journalists as such. The IDF acts to mitigate harm to uninvolved individuals as much as possible while maintaining the safety of IDF troops,” it said.

Netanyahu said that “military authorities are conducting a thorough investigation” and insisted that “Israel values the work of journalists, medical staff and all civilians.”

He emphasized that Israel’s war is “with Hamas terrorists.”

“Our just goals are defeating Hamas and bringing our hostages home,” Netanyahu said.

Report: Israeli military chief urges Netanyahu to accept hostage deal

The Gaza war was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people and saw more than 250 taken hostage to Gaza.

Despite efforts to reach a new ceasefire, the war shows no sign of abating.

The Israel leadership has approved operational plans to launch a new campaign to seize Gaza City, despite warnings at home and abroad that the offensive would endanger the lives of the remaining hostages and the population of some 1 million living in the major metropolis.

Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir on Sunday again warned against the offensive, calling on Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire proposal to free the remaining hostages, in comments reported by Israeli media.

“There is a deal on the table, it is the improved Witkoff deal, we must accept it,” Israeli television Channel 13 quoted Zamir as telling commanders during a visit to a naval base in Haifa.

The military chief was referring to a proposal previously negotiated by US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, which provides for a 60-day ceasefire, during which 10 living hostages would be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

“The army has created the conditions for a hostage deal, now it is in the hands of Netanyahu,” Zamir continued.

He reiterated his concern that the planned seizure of Gaza City would endanger the lives of the 20 remaining hostages believed to still be alive, some of whom are thought to be held in the major metropolis.

In its official statement of the visit, the IDF only cited Zamir as saying that the army had created the conditions for the release of hostages through military pressure.

Hamas said last week it had agreed to a new ceasefire proposal, which is reportedly an adapted version of the Witkoff proposal.