Israeli airstrikes on Gaza hospital kill at least 19 people, including 4 journalists

An Israeli walk out come to a southern Gaza's briny infirmary mon, killing 19 people, including four journalists, said Zaher al-Waheid, the head of the Gaza Health Ministry's records department.

The victims on the fourth floor of Nasser Hospital were killed when one missile hit and was followed in the same spot by another missile moments later as rescue crews arrived, the ministry 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.

Among the 15 killed were four 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. Photographer Hatem Khaled, who was also a Reuters contractor, was wounded, the news agency reported.

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.

Neither Israel's military nor Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office immediately responded to questions about the strikes.

In addition to the 15 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 days after a ceasefire broke down killed two people.

The 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.  

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

The war began when Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, on Oct. 7, 2023. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals, but 50 remain in Gaza, with around 20 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 (IPC) 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.

---

---