At least 20 people, including five international journalists, were killed in a double Israeli strike on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Four health workers also died, the World Health Organization confirmed.
The journalists worked with Reuters, Associated Press (AP), Al Jazeera, and Middle East Eye. Reuters identified its cameraman, Husam al-Masri, among the dead. He was operating a live TV feed when the first blast struck. Another Reuters photographer, Hatem Khaled, was injured in the second strike. AP said freelancer Mariam Dagga, 33, was killed, while Al Jazeera confirmed the death of Mohammad Salama. Middle East Eye said freelancer Ahmed Abu Aziz was among the victims, along with photographer Moaz Abu Taha, who had contributed to several outlets.
Footage from the scene shows the first strike hitting near the hospital entrance, followed by a second blast targeting rescuers and journalists who had rushed in to help. Videos captured panicked survivors fleeing as glass shattered and smoke filled the air. One livestream by al-Ghad TV showed emergency workers responding on the hospital’s upper floors before the second strike directly hit their position.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the incident a “tragic mishap” and said a full investigation was underway.
The killings bring the number of journalists killed in Gaza since the outbreak of war in October 2023 to nearly 200. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Gaza has become the deadliest conflict for reporters ever recorded, with more media workers killed there in the past two years than worldwide in the three years before.
International reporters have been barred from entering Gaza independently since the start of the war. While some have been escorted in under Israel Defense Forces (IDF) supervision, much of the global coverage relies on local journalists — many of whom have paid with their lives.
Witnesses described the attack as “unbearable.” Hadil Abu Zaid of the UK-based Medical Aid for Palestinians said she was visiting the ICU when “explosions tore through the operating theatre next to us. The killed and injured were everywhere.”
The attack sparked swift international condemnation. UN Secretary-General António Guterres demanded an impartial investigation and repeated calls for an immediate ceasefire. Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), said the killing of more journalists amounted to “silencing the last remaining voices reporting about children dying amid famine.” UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he was “horrified,” while French President Emmanuel Macron called the strike “intolerable.”
The incident comes just two weeks after six other journalists, including four from Al Jazeera, were killed in an Israeli strike near al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s health ministry reported that 58 bodies from Israeli attacks reached hospitals in the past day, with more victims still trapped under rubble. Among the dead were 28 people killed while trying to collect food aid. Hospitals also recorded 11 deaths from malnutrition, including two children, bringing the total number of starvation-related deaths to 300 — 117 of them children.
The ongoing war began after Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Israel launched a massive military offensive in response, which has since killed more than 62,700 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry figures, which the UN regards as credible.
