A double Israeli strike on one of the last hospitals in southern Gaza has killed five journalists, including a reporter with The Independent’s partner publication Independent Arabia.
Maryam Abu Daqqa, 33, who worked for Independent Arabia and Associated Press, was killed alongside Al Jazeera camera operator Mohammed Salam, Reuters cameraman Hussam al-Masri, and freelance journalist Moaz Abu Taha.
Ahmed Abu Aziz, who worked for UK-based media outlet Middle East Eye, later died from his injuries, the organisation said.
Independent Arabia said it “mourns its courageous correspondent” Abu Daqqa, who left behind an 11-year-old son, saying she worked around the clock to cover the horrors unfolding in the besieged Gaza Strip. The publication also condemned Israel’s “flagrant violation of international laws that guarantee the protection of journalists”.
Israel said an inquiry had been opened into the strike, with the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Israel deeply regretted what he sought to claim was a “tragic mishap”.
The video journalist was among 20 people killed, and 50 injured on Monday in what witnesses described to The Independent as two missiles in quick succession slamming into the Nasser Medical Complex – the only partially functioning public hospital in the south of Gaza.
Rights groups and the United Nations have repeatedly accused Israel of targeting medical facilities and Palestinian journalists since it launched its unprecedented bombardment of Gaza in October 2023. More than 240 journalists have been killed since then – including five journalists just two weeks ago – according to rights group Amnesty International, making this the bloodiest conflict for reporters in modern history.
“We were shocked there was strikes hitting the fourth floor of the main surgical building. The journalists use that side to do their interviews or to broadcast from the area,” Khaled al-Serr, a leading Palestinian surgeon at Nasser Hospital, told The Independent. He said first responders, medics and journalists rushed to the scene to help the injured and killed.
“During the evacuation, while we were standing in front of the building and starting the work receiving cases to the emergency department, we were surprised by another bombing at the same spot.”
“Until now, the treatment process is continuing, we cannot confirm the numbers,” he added.
Mohammed al-Qudra, 28, who also witnessed the attack, said the quick succession of missiles “resulted in a massive massacre”.
“The scene was terrifying,” he said, still shaken. “The area was a pool of blood, and the entire staircase of the building was covered in blood, from top to bottom.”
The Israeli military declined to comment to The Independent when asked why it launched a double strike on a hospital, a protected building, and did not acknowledge that it had killed journalists and first responders as they were tending to the injured. Instead, in a public statement, Israeli military spokesperson Nadav Shoshani confirmed Israeli troops carried out a strike in the area of the hospital and added that the country’s chief of staff had instructed an initial inquiry “as soon as possible”.
He said the Israeli military does not target journalists and that the Israeli military “acts to mitigate harm to uninvolved individuals”. Mr Netanyahu later said that Israel valued the work of journalists and medical staff, adding that Israel’s war was with Hamas.
