ISRAELI forces struck Gaza’s Nasser Hospital twice on Monday, killing at least 20 people including five journalists and several emergency workers, according to local health officials.
The second strike reportedly hit as media and rescue teams responded to the first, leading to one of the deadliest such incidents in the 22-month conflict.
The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that the attacks targeted one of the few functioning hospitals in the Gaza Strip. Among the dead was Mariam Dagga, a 33-year-old visual journalist who regularly contributed to international outlets, including the AP.
Reuters confirmed that one of its reporters was killed while operating a live television broadcast from the hospital’s upper floors. Video footage from the pan-Arab network Al Ghad showed journalists and medics climbing the stairwell before a sudden blast engulfed the area in smoke and debris.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office described the incident as a “tragic mishap” and said the military was investigating. He added: “Israel deeply regrets the tragic mishap that occurred today at the Nasser Hospital in Gaza. Israel values the work of journalists, medical staff, and all civilians.”
Israeli media reported the military had fired two artillery shells aimed at what troops believed to be a Hamas surveillance device on the hospital’s roof, an area frequently used by international journalists for live broadcasts.
Brigadier General Effie Defrin, an Israeli military spokesman, said the army does not intentionally target civilians and was conducting an internal investigation. He accused Hamas of using civilian areas as cover, but did not specify whether militants were believed present at the time of the strikes.
Zaher al-Waheidi, head of records at the Gaza Health Ministry, said the first shell hit an upper floor containing operating theatres and doctors’ quarters, killing at least two. The second, which struck the stairwell as rescue efforts began, killed 18 more and wounded some 80 people.
The AP and Reuters jointly condemned the attack in a letter to Israeli authorities, stating: “We are outraged that independent journalists were among the victims of this strike on the hospital, a location that is protected under international law.
These journalists were present in their professional capacity, doing critical work bearing witness.”
They also noted that international journalists have been barred from independently entering Gaza since the war began, aside from visits coordinated by the Israeli military.
Among the five journalists killed were freelancers and contractors reporting for Al Jazeera, Reuters, and Middle East Eye. Dagga had recently filed a report from Nasser Hospital on doctors struggling to save starving children.
A British doctor working inside the hospital, who asked not to be named for security reasons, said the second strike occurred before anyone could evacuate. “Just absolute scenes of chaos, disbelief and fear,” the doctor said. “It leaves me in another state of shock that hospitals can be a target.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) stated that 189 Palestinian journalists have been killed since the conflict began, with some directly targeted and others killed incidentally. More than 1,500 health workers have died, according to the United Nations.
Sara Qudah, CPJ’s regional director, said: “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.”
The Foreign Press Association also condemned the strike and called on Israel “to halt its abhorrent practice of targeting journalists.”
International condemnation followed swiftly, with the U.N. Secretary-General, the governments of France and Britain, and others denouncing the attack. Former U.S. President Donald Trump initially said he was unaware of the incident before adding: “I’m not happy about it. I don’t want to see it.” He later suggested there might be a “conclusive ending” to the conflict in the coming weeks, though did not elaborate.
Nasser Hospital has been hit multiple times during the war. In June, a strike killed three people; in March, an Israeli attack on its surgical unit killed a senior Hamas figure and a teenager. The military claimed it had targeted a command centre in the earlier incidents.
Hospitals still operating in Gaza are overwhelmed, treating the wounded in crowded corridors as famine spreads and supplies dwindle. The Health Ministry said the strike further crippled its capacity to treat patients.
Elsewhere on Monday, Al-Awda Hospital reported that Israeli forces opened fire on aid-seekers near a distribution site in central Gaza, killing six and injuring 15. The Israeli military said it had no information on any casualties in the area and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which operates with Israeli support, denied that any shootings had occurred nearby.
Separately, Israeli strikes in central and northern Gaza reportedly killed at least nine more Palestinians, including two children, according to hospital sources.
The Gaza Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run administration, said on Sunday that 62,686 Palestinians have been killed in the war. While the figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, the ministry says approximately half the dead are women and children.
The U.N. and international observers regard the ministry’s toll as credible, though Israel disputes it and has not released a comprehensive alternative.
The conflict began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people and abducting 251 others. Most of the hostages have since been released, though about 50 remain in Gaza, with around 20 believed to be alive. - August 26, 2025
