Israeli strikes on Nasser Hospital in Gaza have killed at least 15 people, including journalists, Palestinian health officials have said.
Three journalists were killed in the strikes, according to officials. This includes cameraman Hussam al-Masri who worked for Reuters, and photographer Mohammed Salama who worked for Al Jazeera, the news networks confirmed.
Photographer Hatem Khaled, also contracted by Reuters, was injured. A rescue worker was also among those killed, health officials added.
The victims on the fourth floor of Nasser Hospital were killed in a double-tap strike with one missile hitting first, then another moments later as rescue crews arrived, the ministry said.
Khaled Al Serr, a Palestinian surgeon who works at the hospital, told The Independent that the bombing hit “the main building, the surgical building.
“The civil defence forces and also the paramedics rushed to the area of the bombing to evacuate the injured,” he added. “During the evacuation, we were standing in front of the building looking to work by starting to receive cases to the emergency department from the bombing.
“We were surprised by another bombing to the same spot.”
A live video feed from the hospital by Reuters, operated by al-Masri, suddenly shut down at the moment of the initial strike.
Nasser Hospital, based in Khan Younis is the largest in southern Gaza. It has withstood raids and bombardment throughout 22 months of war, with officials citing critical shortages of supplies and staff.
The Israeli military and Prime Minister's Office both had no immediate comment regarding the strikes.
Israel announced it had begun the first steps of its ground offensive on Gaza City on Thursday, with an IDF spokesperson declaring plans to “deepen the attack on Hamas in Gaza City, a stronghold of governmental and military terror for the terrorist organisation” following a clash with the organisation in Khan Younis on Wednesday.
More than 240 Palestinian journalists have been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza since the war started on October 7, 2023, according to the Palestinian Journalist Syndicate.
The latest strike comes weeks after the world expressed shock as six journalists, including prominent Al Jazeera correspondent Anas Al Sharif, were killed in an Israeli airstrike.
It targeted a tent where the journalists were sheltering at the Al Shifa medical complex in Gaza City, hospital director Dr Muhammad Abu Salmiya told The Independent.
The UN-backed organisation The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system (IPC) declared that Gaza’s largest city was suffering from a manmade famine on Friday.
Th IPC said 514,000 people – close to a quarter of all Palestinians in Gaza – are experiencing famine, with the number due to rise to 641,000 by the end of next month.
Previously, the IPC has only registered famines in Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan. UN secretary general Antonio Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages still held by Hamas and unfettered humanitarian access.
Foreign secretary David Lammy called it a “moral outrage” and blamed Israel’s “refusal to allow sufficient aid into Gaza”.
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