2 Israeli airstrikes on Gaza hospital kill at least 20 people, including 5 journalists

Israel struck one of the main hospitals in the Gaza Strip on Monday — and then hit the facility again as journalists and rescue workers rushed to the scene, killing at least 20 people and wounding dozens more, local health workers said.

Khan Younis’s 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.

The first strike hit an upper floor housing operating rooms and doctors’ residences, killing at least two people, according to Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the records department at the Gaza health ministry.

The second strike hit an external stairwell as rescuers and journalists raced to the scene of the first strike, killing another 18. Around 80 people were wounded, including many in the hospital’s courtyard, al-Waheidi said.

Journalists working with AP, Reuters, Al Jazeera killed

Among those killed were five journalists, including 33-year-old Mariam Dagga, a visual journalist who had worked for The Associated Press since the start of the war.

Dagga was a freelancer who recently reported on Nasser Hospital doctors struggling to save children who’d had no prior health issues yet were dying or wasting away from starvation.

Al Jazeera confirmed that its journalist Mohammed Salam was among those who were killed in the Nasser Hospital strike.

Reuters reported that its contractor cameraman Hussam al-Masri was also killed in the strike.

The others were identified as Ahmed Abu Aziz and Moaz Abu Taha, a freelance journalist who worked with several news organizations including occasionally contributing to Reuters.

In a joint letter to Israeli authorities, The Associated Press and Reuters demanded an explanation.

“We are outraged that independent journalists were among the victims of this strike on the hospital, a location that is protected under international law,” it said.

“These journalists were present in their professional capacity, doing critical work bearing witness.”

Five journalists among those killed in Israeli airstrike on Gaza hospital

CBC freelance videographer Mohamed El Saife was on the ground in Gaza when two Israeli airstrikes hit Nasser Hospital. At least 20 people are dead, including five journalists.

Doctor describes scenes of ‘chaos’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the strike was a “tragic mishap.”

The Israeli military said its troops carried out a strike in the area of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis and that it would conduct an investigation into the strike. The military said it “regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and does not target journalists as such.”

The chief of the general staff of the military had ordered an inquiry, Reuters reported.

A British doctor working on the hospital floor that was hit said the second strike came before people could start evacuating from the first.

“Just absolute scenes of chaos, disbelief and fear,” the doctor said, describing people leaving trails of blood as they entered the ward.

The hospital was already overwhelmed, with patients who had IV drips lying on the floor in the corridors in stifling heat. The doctor spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations from their organization to avoid reprisals from Israeli authorities.

“It leaves me in another state of shock that hospitals can be a target,” the doctor said.

Global Affairs Canada condemned the attack in a post on social media, saying Canada is “horrified by the Israeli military strike.” The post went on to say that “Israel has the obligation to protect civilians, including journalists and health-care workers, operating in Gaza.”

Fatalities also reported at food distribution point

In addition to those killed at Nasser Hospital, hospital officials in northern Gaza also reported deaths from strikes and gunfire along the route to aid sites.

Three Palestinians, including a child, were killed in a strike on a neighbourhood in Gaza City, where Israel is preparing for a broader ground invasion in the coming days, Shifa Hospital said.

Al-Awda Hospital reported six aid-seekers trying to reach a distribution point in central Gaza were killed by Israeli gunfire in an incident that also wounded 15.

Israel’s military did not immediately respond to a question about the aid seekers. Israeli strikes and raids on hospitals are not uncommon.

Multiple hospitals have been struck or raided across the Gaza Strip, with Israel claiming its attacks had targeted militants operating inside the medical facilities.

A June strike on Nasser Hospital killed three people and wounded 10, according to the health ministry. At the time, Israel’s military said it had targeted Hamas militants operating from a command and control centre inside the hospital.

A March strike on the hospital’s surgical unit killed two people days after a ceasefire broke down.

Media outlets rely on Gaza journalists

The Israel-Hamas war has been one of the bloodiest conflicts for media workers, with a total of 192 journalists killed in Gaza, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Israel’s “killing of journalists in Gaza continues while the world watches and fails to act firmly on the most horrific attacks the press has ever faced in recent history,” said Sara Qudah, regional director of the committee.

“These murders must end now. The perpetrators must no longer be allowed to act with impunity.”

Thibaut Bruttin, director general of Reporters Without Borders, said press freedom advocates had never seen such a severe step backward for the safety of reporters, with journalists having both been killed both in indiscriminate strikes and in targeted attacks that Israel’s military has acknowledged carrying out.

‘Irreparable harm has been done’ to Palestinian kids in Gaza: Save the Children

Famine has gripped the Gaza Strip’s largest city due to Israel’s assault on the region, and it could spread south to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis by the end of next month, the world’s leading authority on food crises said Friday. Dan Stewart of Save the Children says this famine must be the ‘lowest point in this catastrophe,’ and it will only get worse unless the international community steps up.

“They are doing everything they can to silence independent voices that are trying to report on Gaza,” Bruttin said.

The UN secretary general, along with Britain, France and others, condemned the attack. When asked about the strike, U.S. President Donald Trump initially said he was not aware of it, before offering, “I’m not happy about it. I don’t want to see it.”

World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also condemned the hospital strike,

In some cases, such as with Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif, who was targeted and killed by Israel earlier this month, Israel has accused journalists in Gaza of being part of militant groups.

Israel’s military asserted that al-Sharif had led a Hamas cell, an allegation that Al Jazeera and al-Sharif previously dismissed as baseless.

Aside from rare guided tours, Israel has barred international media from covering the war. News organizations instead rely largely on Palestinian journalists in Gaza. Many of the journalists working in Gaza face the same struggles to find food as the people they are covering.

The Gaza health ministry said Sunday that at least 62,686 Palestinians have been killed in the war. It does not distinguish between fighters and civilians but says around half of those killed have been women and children. The UN and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties. Israel disputes those figures but has not provided its own.

CBC’s Aarti Pole speaks with Moshe Lavi, whose brother-in-law is still held hostage in Gaza

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The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and abducted 251, according to Israeli tallies. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals, but 50 remain in Gaza, with around 20 still believed to be alive.

Israel rejected a report from a global hunger monitor on Friday that said Gaza City and surrounding areas were officially suffering from famine, saying it ignored recent humanitarian steps by Israel.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system said 514,000 people — close to a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza — are experiencing famine, with the number due to rise to 641,000 by the end of September.