Five Journalists Among 20 Killed in Israeli Double Strike on Hospital 

At least 20 people, including five journalists working for the international media, have been killed in an Israeli double strike on Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.

The journalists had worked with Reuters, AP, Al Jazeera and the Middle East Eye, the news outlets confirmed.

Four health workers were also killed, the World Health Organization’s chief said.

Footage of the attack shows a second strike hitting rescuers who had arrived to help those targeted by the initial attack.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the incident a tragic mishap and said military authorities were conducting a thorough investigation.

The latest deaths brings the number of journalists killed in Gaza since the start of the war there in October 2023 to nearly 200.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a leading body which promotes press freedom, the war in Gaza has been the deadliest conflict for journalists ever documented. It says more press members have been killed there in the past two years than were killed worldwide in the prior three years.

International journalists have been banned by Israel from entering the Gaza Strip independently since the start of the war. 

Some journalists have been taken into Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) under controlled access, but international media outlets rely on local reporters for much of their coverage in Gaza.

Reuters news agency said its cameraman who had been operating a live TV feed on the roof, Husam al-Masri, was among those killed. 

Hatem Khaled, another contractor also working for Reuters as a photographer, was injured in the second strike, according to witnesses. 

Associate Press news agency said it was shocked and saddened by the death of 33-year-old Mariam Dagga, a freelance journalist working for it.

The others killed were Al Jazeera’s Mohammad Salama, Middle East Eye freelancer Ahmed Abu Aziz and photographer Moaz Abu Taha. US TV network NBC said Taha did not work for it, as had been initially reported. Reuters said he had worked with several news organisations, including Reuters.

The Hamas-run Civil Defence said one of its members was among those killed, AFP news agency reported.

Hadil Abu Zaid, a programme officer for British-based charity Medical Aid for Palestinians, said in a statement sent to media that she was visiting the ICU when explosions tore through the operating theatre right next to us.