At least 20 killed, including five journalists, in Israeli strike on Gaza hospital, raising urgent concerns over press safety amid escalating humanitarian crisis.
At least twenty people have reportedly died in an Israeli attack on a hospital located in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Among the victims were five journalists, raising alarm about the deliberate targeting of media workers during the ongoing military operations. According to the Civil Defence Agency, operated by Hamas, the journalists killed were affiliated with major international news organizations such as the Associated Press, Reuters, Al Jazeera, and Middle East Eye.
The agency stated that the initial strike caused multiple fatalities, followed by a second strike which occurred while rescue teams were actively helping the wounded at the site.
Humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
This devastating event follows just days after the United Nations officially declared a famine in Gaza, marking the first time such a declaration has been made in the Middle East. Moreover, the attack adds to a recent string of violence against journalists. Less than two weeks earlier, five colleagues of Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif were killed near al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Mahmud Bassal, the spokesman for the Civil Defence, confirmed that the death toll stands at twenty “martyrs,.” Which includes five journalists and one civil defence officer. The attack targeted Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. A major medical facility that has been struck multiple times since the conflict began.
Accountability in warfare and international law
In a statement, the Israeli military acknowledged that their forces carried out a strike in the area surrounding Nasser Hospital. They said the Chief of the General Staff has been ordered to begin an immediate investigation into the incident. The military expressed regret over the harm caused to civilians. Those who were not involved in the fighting and insisted that journalists were not intentionally targeted.
Bassal reported that the attack started with an Israeli drone striking a hospital building. This was followed by an airstrike that took place while the wounded were being evacuated.
International media watchdogs, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders, swiftly condemned the killings. These organizations have reported that nearly 200 journalists have been killed. These killings have been over the course of almost two years of conflict between Israel and Hamas. The CPJ’s statement strongly condemned the deaths. It questions how far the Israeli military would go in its efforts to silence information coming from Gaza. And how long it would continue to violate international humanitarian laws.
Identities of the reporters
Sara Qudah, CPJ’s regional director, expressed deep concern over the ongoing killings of journalists in Gaza. She criticized the global community for failing to take strong action. She called the killings “the most horrific attacks the press has faced in recent history”. Sara Qudah urged that these murders must end immediately. Qudah emphasized that perpetrators must no longer be allowed to act without consequence.
Al Jazeera confirmed the death of Mohammad Salama, one of its photojournalists and cameramen, in the attack. The network condemned the strike in the strongest terms, accusing Israeli forces of conducting a deliberate campaign to silence journalists and suppress the truth.
The Associated Press also expressed shock and sadness over the death of 33-year-old visual journalist Mariam Dagga, who had been freelancing with the agency since the start of the conflict. The AP clarified that Dagga was not on an official assignment at the time she was killed.
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