Five journalists, including Al Jazeera photographer Mohammad Salama, are among 21 people killed in an Israeli attack on Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza, according to the enclave’s Ministry of Health.
The ministry said on Monday that the victims were killed on the fourth floor of the hospital in a “double-tap” strike – one missile hitting first, then another moments later as rescue crews arrived.
Those killed also included Hussam al-Masri, who worked as a photojournalist for the Reuters news agency; Mariam Abu Daqqa, who worked as a journalist with several media outlets, including The Independent Arabic and The Associated Press news agency; and journalist Moaz Abu Taha, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office.
A fifth journalist Ahmed Abu Aziz, who worked for the Quds Feed Network and other media outlets, including Middle East Eye, succumbed to his wounds, according to the Media Office statement.
Israeli forces killed Palestinian correspondent Hassan Douhan, a journalist and academic who worked as a correspondent for Al-Hayat al-Jadida publication, in a separate incident in Khan Younis later Monday, bringing the death toll of journalists to six.
“The journalist colleagues were martyred when the Israeli occupation committed a horrific crime by bombing a group of journalists who were on a press coverage mission at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis Governorate and many martyrs fell victim to this crime,” the Media Office said in a statement.
“We hold the Israeli occupation, the American administration, and the countries participating in the genocide crime such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and France fully responsible for committing these heinous brutal crimes.”
Reuters reported that their live video feed from the hospital, which was operated by cameraman al-Masri, suddenly shut down at the moment of the initial strike.
‘Bury the truth’
Al Jazeera condemned the attack as “a clear intent to bury the truth”.
“The blood of our martyred journalists in Gaza has not yet dried before the Israeli occupation forces committed another crime against Al Jazeera cameraman Mohammed Salama, together with three other photojournalists,” the network said in a statement.
“Despite relentless targeting, Al Jazeera remains resolute in providing live coverage of the Israeli genocide in Gaza for the past 23 months, with occupation authorities barring international media outlets from entering to report on the war.”
Salama was planning a wedding with fellow Palestinian journalist, Hala Asfour, hoping to celebrate their nuptials after a ceasefire.
Abu Daqqa, meanwhile, leaves behind a 12-year-old son, who was evacuated from Gaza earlier in the war, according to AP editor Abby Sewell.
“She was a true hero, like all of our Palestinian colleagues in Gaza,” Sewell said in a post on X.
The journalists’ killings come barely two weeks after renowned Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif was killed along with four of his media colleagues in front of al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Israel claimed it targeted Anas, who had become the voice of Gaza for his extensive reporting from the enclave – home to more than two million people.
The attack raises the death toll of Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023 to at least 273, according to an Al Jazeera tally.
In addition to the four journalists killed, Hatem Khaled, a photojournalist working for Reuters, was also among those wounded, the agency confirmed. Khaled has extensively documented the war in Gaza for Reuters.
Israel issued a statement saying it waged “a strike in the area of Nasser Hospital”, without explaining the purpose or target of the attack. The short statement, posted on the army’s social media channels, claims the military “does not target journalists as such”.
Later Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he “deeply regrets the tragic mishap” at Nasser Hospital. In a statement from his office posted on X, Netanyahu said Israel “values” the work of journalists, medical staff and civilians.
“The military authorities are conducting a thorough investigation,” the statement added. Israel’s investigations into the actions of its own forces rarely ever lead to criminal charges or any form of accountability.
More journalists killed in Gaza than in any other major conflict
Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary said Israel has constantly targeted Palestinian journalists throughout the conflict.
“How many times are we going to continue reporting on the killing of our colleagues or the killing of other journalists working with Al Jazeera and other news outlets?” Khoudary asked.
“I’m one of the Palestinian journalists reporting from hospitals. We are in a two-year war where we have been deprived of electricity and internet, so Palestinian journalists are using these services at hospitals to continue reporting,” Khoudary said, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.
Palestinian journalists are also making hospitals their base to follow stories of wounded Palestinians, those facing malnutrition, and all those killed, she added.
Mohamed Elmasry, media studies professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, says Israel has learned it can “pretty much do whatever it wants” with no repercussions during the course of the Gaza war.
“If there’s anything that Israel has learned over the last 23 months, it’s that it can pretty much do whatever it wants and get away with it,” he told Al Jazeera, referencing attacks targeting and killing paramedics, aid workers and journalists.
“All they’ve [Israel’s army] have had to do is come out with a statement either denying it, deflecting it or blaming Hamas,” Elmasry said. “We’ll see what they say about this [latest attack on Nasser Hospital].
Rights groups have roundly condemned Israel’s targeting of journalists in Gaza, where reporters face more danger than anywhere else in the world.
“No conflict in modern history has seen a higher number of journalists killed than Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip,” Amnesty International has said.
Multiple hospitals have been struck or raided across the Strip since the war began, with Israel claiming fighters are operating from inside the medical facilities without providing evidence. Israeli claims have never been backed by evidence.
Israel has been accused of widespread abuse during its 22 months of brutal war on Gaza, killing more than 62,000 people, more than half of them women and children. Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant have been issued arrest warrants for war crimes by the International Criminal Court.
