Four Journalists Among 15 Killed in Israeli Strikes on Gaza Hospital: Civil Defence

Gaza’s civil defence agency confirmed that four journalists were among at least 15 people killed on Monday when Israeli strikes targeted Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis.

Civil defence spokesperson Mahmud Bassal stated: “The death toll is 15, including four journalists and one civil defence member,”
following the attack on the hospital complex.

According to international media watchdogs, around 200 journalists have been killed in nearly two years of conflict between Israel and Hamas.

When asked about the incident, the Israeli military said it was “checking the reports” regarding strikes on a building within the medical complex.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate reported that several reporters had been “martyred in the line of journalistic duty” after the Israeli bombardment at Nasser Hospital.

The victims were identified as:

Reuters confirmed that one of the journalists killed and another injured were contractors for the agency.

According to Bassal, the assault began when an Israeli explosive drone targeted a hospital building, followed by an air strike as the wounded were being evacuated.

AFP footage captured in the immediate aftermath showed:

• Thick smoke rising and debris scattered outside the hospital.
• Palestinians rushing to evacuate victims, carrying bloodied bodies and severed limbs.
• A body dangling from the top floor of the targeted building, as anguished cries echoed below.
• A woman in medical scrubs, blood-soaked and with a heavily bandaged leg, being stretchered inside for urgent treatment.

Due to media restrictions and access challenges in Gaza, AFP noted it was unable to independently verify the figures provided by either the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

This incident follows a pattern of journalist casualties during the Gaza conflict.

• Earlier this month, four Al Jazeera staff members and two freelancers were killed in an Israeli strike near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
• Israel claimed that Anas al-Sharif, a prominent Al Jazeera correspondent killed in that strike, was leading a Hamas “terrorist cell” and facilitating rocket attacks on Israelis.
• The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) strongly condemned the targeting of reporters, with CEO Jodie Ginsberg declaring:

“Journalists are civilians. They must never be targeted in war. To do so is a war crime.”

The war was triggered by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, which left 1,219 people dead, mostly civilians, according to official figures compiled by AFP.

Since then, Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 62,686 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians, based on figures from the Gaza health ministry that the United Nations considers credible.