GAZA, STRIP, Aug 26: Israel struck Gaza’s Nasser Hospital on Monday, killing at least 20 people and wounding dozens more, the Associated Press reported, adding that the hospital was hit twice, with the second strike occurring as journalists and rescue workers rushed to cover the initial blast.
According to the AP, among the dead were five journalists, including 33-year-old Mariam Dagga, a visual journalist who frequently contributed to the AP. Reuters said one of its reporters was killed during a live broadcast from the upper floor of the hospital. The AP reported that other journalists, including Dagga, were hit as they climbed an external stairwell with rescue workers before the second strike.
The AP quoted Zaher al-Waheidi of Gaza’s Health Ministry saying the first strike hit operating rooms and doctors’ residences, killing at least two, while the second hit the stairwell, killing another 18. He said about 80 were wounded, many in the courtyard.
Israel strikes near Gaza’s largest hospital after accusing Hama...
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office called the incident a “tragic mishap.” The AP reported that Israeli media said troops fired artillery at what they thought was a Hamas surveillance camera. Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, an Israeli spokesman, said the army does not target civilians and had launched an investigation.
The AP said the journalists killed included freelancers working for Al Jazeera, Reuters and Middle East Eye. Dagga had recently contributed to an AP story about doctors battling starvation among children. In a joint letter, the AP and Reuters demanded answers, saying: “We are outraged that independent journalists were among the victims of this strike on the hospital, a location that is protected under international law.”
The AP noted that Israel has barred foreign journalists from entering Gaza except on military-organized tours. The Committee to Protect Journalists told the AP that 189 Palestinian journalists have been killed since the war began, calling Gaza the deadliest conflict for media workers in decades. CPJ’s Sara Qudah told the AP that the “killing of journalists in Gaza continues while the world watches.”
According to the AP, the United Nations, Britain and France condemned the strike. U.S. President Donald Trump first said he was unaware of it, later adding: “I’m not happy about it. I don’t want to see it.”
A British doctor working at the hospital told the AP the second strike came before evacuations could begin, describing “chaos, disbelief and fear.” The AP reported that Nasser Hospital has been repeatedly targeted during the war, leaving staff and patients with critical shortages.
