By WAFAA SHURAFA, SAMY MAGDY and SAM METZ, Associated Press
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli strike hit a southern Gaza’s main hospital Monday, 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’ 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 19 killed were four journalists including 33-year-old Mariam Dagga, a visual journalist who had worked for The Associated Press throughout the war.
Dagga was a freelancer who regulary reported from Nasser Hospital, including on doctors struggling to save children from starvation. Al Jazeera and Reuters also confirmed their journalists and freelancers were among those killed.
The Israel-Hamas war has been one of the bloodiest conflicts for media workers, with a total of 192 journalists killed in Gaza in the 22-month conflict, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Neither Israel’s military nor the Prime Minister’s office immediately responded to questions about the strike.
In addition to those 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 neighborhood 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, without providing evidence.
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 center inside the hospital. A March strike on the hospital’s surgical unit days after a ceasefire broke down killed two people.
Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.
The health ministry said Sunday that at least 62,686 Palestinians have been killed in the war. It does not distinguish between fighters and civillians but says around half have been women and children. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own.
Magdy reported from Cairo and Metz reported from Jerusalem. Melanie Lidman contributed from Jerusalem.
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