Khan Younis, Gaza Strip: Israeli strikes on Nasser Hospital in Gaza on Monday killed at least 15 people, including three journalists, Palestinian health officials said.
Cameraman Hussam al-Masri, one of the journalists killed in the strikes, according to the officials, was a contractor for Reuters. Associated Press reported that a freelancer who had worked for it since the war began, Mariam Dagga, 33, was also killed, and Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera said one of its cameramen, Mohammed Salama, was among the dead.
Photographer Hatem Khaled, who was also a Reuters contractor, was wounded, health officials said.
Nasser Hospital, pictured in March, has withstood raids and bombardment throughout 22 months of war.Credit: MSF
The Israeli military and the prime minister’s office had no immediate comment regarding the strikes.
Gaza’s health ministry said the victims on the fourth floor of Nasser Hospital were killed in a double-tap strike – one missile hitting first, then another moments later as rescue crews arrived.
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The journalists’ deaths come two weeks after one of Al Jazeera’s most recognisable faces reporting from Gaza, Anas al-Sharif, was killed alongside four colleagues in a strike on a tent near Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Israel accused al-Sharif of being a Hamas cell leader posing as a journalist, a claim rejected by rights advocates, Al Jazeera and organisations representing journalists.
The Israel-Hamas has been one of the bloodiest conflicts for media workers, with a total of 192 journalists killed in Gaza in the 22-month conflict, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Comparatively, 18 journalists have been killed so far in the Russia-Ukraine war, according to the CPJ.
Khan Younis’ Nasser Hospital, the largest in southern Gaza, has withstood raids and bombardment throughout 22 months of war, with officials citing critical shortages of supplies and staff.
