At least 15 people, including four journalists, were killed on Monday when Israeli strikes hit Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, according to Gaza’s civil defence agency.
Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal confirmed the toll, saying: “The death toll is 15, including four journalists and one civil defence member.”
Media watchdogs say that nearly 200 journalists have been killed over the course of the nearly two-year war between Israel and Hamas.
Asked by AFP about the strikes on the medical complex, the Israeli military said it was verifying the reports.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said the reporters were “martyred in the line of journalistic duty,” following an Israeli bombing that targeted them at Nasser Hospital.
In its statement, the syndicate identified the victims as photojournalists Hossam Al-Masri, Mohammad Salama, and Mariam Dagga, along with journalist Moaz Abu Taha.
Al Jazeera confirmed that its photojournalist and cameraman, Mohammad Salama, was killed in the strike on the medical complex.
The three other journalists worked with various Palestinian and international media outlets, according to AFP.
The Associated Press said Mariam Dagga had worked as a freelancer for the agency but was not on assignment at the time of her death.
Reuters confirmed that one of the journalists killed and another who was injured were working as contractors for the agency.
Civil defence spokesperson Bassal said an Israeli explosive drone struck a building at Nasser Hospital, followed by an airstrike as the wounded were being evacuated.
Aftermath: Smoke, panic, and bloodied bodies
Due to media restrictions and limited access in Gaza, AFP has been unable to independently verify the casualty figures or other details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.
Footage from AFP captured the immediate aftermath: smoke filled the air and debris littered the ground outside the hospital.
Palestinians rushed to assist the wounded, carrying bloodied bodies and severed limbs into the hospital. One body was seen hanging from the upper floor of the targeted building as a man screamed below.
Among the injured was a woman in medical scrubs and a white coat, carried into the hospital on a stretcher with a heavily bandaged leg and bloodstained clothing.
Even before this latest incident, media watchdogs — including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders — had reported that around 200 journalists had been killed during the war in Gaza.
Earlier this month, an Israeli airstrike outside Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City killed four Al Jazeera staff members and two freelancers, prompting widespread condemnation.
The Israeli military claimed that Anas al-Sharif — a prominent Al Jazeera correspondent killed in the strike — led a Hamas “terrorist cell” and had been “responsible for advancing rocket attacks” against Israeli targets.
The CPJ condemned the strike, stating that journalists should never be targeted during armed conflict.
“Journalists are civilians. They must never be targeted in war. To do so is a war crime,” said Jodie Ginsberg, chief executive of the CPJ, in an earlier statement to AFP.
The war in Gaza began with Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023, which killed 1,219 people — mostly civilians — according to an AFP tally based on official sources.
Since then, Israel’s military offensive has killed at least 62,686 Palestinians — most of them civilians — according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.
