Israeli strikes on a hospital complex in Gaza killed 20 people, including five Palestinian journalists in what the French NGO Reporters without Borders called a "deliberate" attack.
Strikes hit Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, a large medical complex in the south of Gaza that is a known gathering place for displaced journalists, according to the press freedom group Reporters without borders (RSF).
Hossam al-Masri, a freelance photographer for the Reuters news agency died in a first drone strike on the hospital Monday morning.
A second strike, eight minute later, killed three other journalists who had arrived at the scene to cover rescue efforts.
They included Mariam Abu Daqqa, a freelance journalist for the Associated Press news agency; Moaz Abu Taha, a correspondent for the American broadcasting network NBC; and Mohamad Salama, a photojournalist for Al Jazeera.
Freelance journalist Ahmad Abu Aziz died soon after of injuries.
Freelance photographer Hatem Khaled was wounded in the second strike, according to Reuters, as was Palestine TV journalist Jamal Bemdah, according to RSF.
RSF said the journalists were "deliberately targeted" and called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting to ensure the protection of journalists in Gaza and "that concrete measures are taken to end impunity for crimes against journalists, protect Palestinian journalists, and open access to the Gaza Strip to all reporters".
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Shocking indifference
The United Nations insisted that journalists and hospitals should never be targeted.
"The killing of journalists in Gaza should shock the world – not into stunned silence but into action, demanding accountability and justice," UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said in a statement.
The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees Philippe Lazzarini described the strike as "silencing the last remaining voices reporting about children dying silently amid famine", adding on social media platform X: "The world's indifference and inaction is shocking."
Following the strike, the Israel-based Foreign Press Association called for an "immediate explanation" from the military and prime minister's office.
"We call on Israel once and for all to halt its abhorrent practice of targeting journalists," the group said in a statement.
The Israeli foreign ministry said on X that troops carried out a strike in the area around the hospital, which has targeted several times since the start of the war.
The military said will conduct an "initial inquiry as soon as possible", the ministry said, adding that it "regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and does not target journalists as such".
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Media restrictions
Earlier this month an Israeli air strike killed four Al Jazeera staff and two freelancers outside Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.
The Israeli military alleged that one of those killed, Anas al-Sharif, headed a Hamas "terrorist cell" and was "responsible for advancing rocket attacks" against Israelis.
The Committee to protect journalists and RSF slammed that strike, saying journalists should never be targeted in war.
According to the CPJ and other media watchdogs, over 200 journalists have been killed in nearly two years of war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, many of them while exercising their profession.
However, media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.
(with newswires)
