Israeli airstrikes on Gaza’s Nasser Hospital kill 21, including journalists and doctors

A journalist holds the blood-covered camera belonging to Palestinian photojournalist Mariam Daqqa, who was killed in the Israeli strike on Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, during her funeral on August 25.

Israeli airstrikes on Gaza’s Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, late Monday evening, killed at least 21 people, including journalists, doctors, and rescue workers, local health officials have stated.

The facility was struck twice in what they described as a “double-tap” attack, with the second strike hitting as emergency teams and reporters arrived. Dozens were injured in one of the deadliest assaults on a medical center since the conflict began nearly two years ago.

The first strike hit the hospital’s upper floors, damaging operating rooms and doctors’ residences. Soon after, as rescuers and journalists rushed to assist, a second strike struck an external stairwell, causing mass casualties.

Around 80 people were wounded, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

Among those killed was Mariam Abu Daqqa, a freelance visual journalist who had worked with The Associated Press. Also killed were Reuters cameraman Hussam al-Masri, Al Jazeera’s Mohammad Salama, and other reporters working with Middle East Eye and regional outlets.

Reuters later confirmed it lost a live video feed from the hospital seconds before its cameraman was killed.

Video aired by Al Ghad showed survivors climbing the stairwell after the first strike, moments before the second blast brought down debris and a plume of smoke.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office called the incident a “tragic mishap” and said the military had launched an internal investigation. Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, a military spokesperson, reiterated that Israel does not target civilians but accused Hamas of using hospitals as cover.

As per Israeli media reports, troops had fired two artillery shells at the hospital, suspecting a Hamas surveillance camera on the roof.

Netanyahu said Israel “deeply regrets” the deaths and valued “the work of journalists, medical staff and all civilians.”

The attack soon triggered international condemnation.

US President Donald Trump, asked about the hospital attack, said he was “not happy about it,” predicting the war could reach a “conclusive end” within weeks.

The UN Secretary-General, Britain, France, and Canada denounced the strikes, with Ottawa calling them “unacceptable” and urging Israel to protect civilians. The Arab League’s Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit described the bombing as “a new chapter in deliberate crimes against civilians” and accused Israel of seeking to “erase the truth.”

Al Jazeera has branded the strike “a clear intent to bury the truth,” while the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said it marked “an open war on free media.”

As per the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ, 189 Palestinian reporters have been killed in Gaza since the conflict began, calling it “one of the deadliest wars for journalists in history.”

Doctors at Nasser Hospital described scenes of “chaos and disbelief” as the already overwhelmed facility struggled to cope with new casualties. Patients lay in corridors amid shortages of staff, medicine, and power.

Meanwhile, other Israeli attacks across Gaza killed at least 61 people on Monday alone, including aid-seekers near Al-Awda Hospital. Six civilians were reportedly shot while attempting to reach a food distribution point, though the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed aid contractor, denied shootings near its site.

The Gaza Health Ministry said more than 62,600 Palestinians have been killed since the war began in October 2023, roughly half of them women and children. Israel disputes the figures but has not provided alternative numbers.

The conflict erupted after Hamas-led militants stormed southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and abducting 251. Most hostages have since been freed, though about 50 remain in Gaza, with 20 believed alive.

UN agencies have warned of famine and worsening malnutrition among Gaza’s children, as aid convoys remain blocked or looted. Oxfam described the crisis as “the worst humanitarian disaster in recent history.”