Four journalists among 20 killed in Israeli strike on Gaza hospital, say health officials

The Israeli military and Prime Minister's Office both had no immediate comment regarding the strikes

Mariam Dagga and Hussam al-Masri - journalists who were killed in an Israeli strikes on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in Palestine on Monday, August 25, 2025. Pictures: Jehad Alshrafi/Reuters

Four journalists were among at least 20 people killed by Israeli strikes on al-Nasser hospital in southern Gaza, health officials said.

The strikes on Monday killed Hussam al-Masri, who worked for Reuters, Mariam Abu Dagga, who worked for the Associated Press, the Al Jazeera journalist Mohammed Salam, and Moaz Abu Taha from NBC. Another Reuters journalist, Hatem Khaled, was also wounded in the attack.

A video from the news agency al-Ghad TV showed civil defence workers wearing bright orange vests and journalists being hit by a bomb while they were attempting to rescue the body of al-Masri, who was killed in an earlier strike on the fourth floor of the hospital. In the moments before their deaths, they raised their hands to shield themselves, but were killed by the explosion.

The second bomb struck the same spot on the fourth floor as the first, after rescue crews had arrived, the Gaza health ministry said. A video later showed a pile of bodies lying where the journalists and civil defence workers were standing at the moment of the strike.

The Associated Press said in a statement that it was shocked and saddened to learn of Dagga’s death, as well as the deaths of the other journalists killed alongside her.

“We are doing everything we can to keep our journalists in Gaza safe as they continue to provide crucial eyewitness reporting in difficult and dangerous conditions,” the agency said.

Reuters said in a statement that it was devastated at the news of the death of al-Masri and wounding of Khaled.

”We are urgently seeking more information and have asked authorities in Gaza and Israel to help us get urgent medical assistance for Hatem,” a spokesperson said.

At least 192 Palestinian journalists have been killed since 7 October 2023, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), more than the number who died globally in the previous three years. The CPJ said in August that Israel’s killing of journalists in Gaza was “a deliberate and systematic attempt to cover up Israel’s actions”.

A spokesperson for the Israeli military said the chief-of-staff had ordered a preliminary investigation into the strike and said Israel “expressed regret for injury to uninvolved personnel”. Israel did not target journalists, they said.

Israeli inquiries into misconduct by its military rarely ensure accountability. A report published this month shows that 88% of investigations into war crimes allegations in Gaza were shut down or left unresolved. Israel’s investigation into the killing of the Palestinian-American Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by an Israeli sniper in 2022 was never finished.

Smoke rises to the sky following an Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel on Monday. Picture: AP Photo/Leo Correa

Ms Dagga, 33, freelanced for the AP since the Gaza war began, as well as other news outlets. She reported on Nasser hospital doctors struggling to save children with no prior health issues who were wasting away from starvation.

Al Jazeera confirmed that Mr Salam was among those killed in the Nasser hospital strike. Reuters reported that Mr al-Masri, a contractor cameraman, was also killed. Mr Khaled, a photographer who was also a Reuters contractor, was wounded, the news agency reported.

Israel has prevented international media from covering the 22-month conflict, an unprecedented ban in the history of war reporting. Palestinian journalists in Gaza who work with international outlets carry out their duties while facing starvation and the risk of death.

The Palestinian ministry of health said Monday’s strikes on Nasser hospital had disrupted surgery in the operating theatre, and condemned the attack, which it said was part of a “systematic destruction of the health system”. Nasser hospital is the only functioning public hospital left in southern Gaza.

Health officials also reported gunfire which killed people seeking aid in central Gaza and airstrikes in Gaza City.

At least six people were killed and 15 wounded while trying to reach an aid distribution site in central Gaza ran by the private US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Shootings by Israeli soldiers near GHF sites are a near daily occurrence, though the Israeli military and GHF deny targeting people seeking aid.

A strike on a residential neighbourhood in Gaza City killed at least three people, including a child. Israel is preparing for an invasion of the city in the coming days, which it says it will occupy and take control of.

Aid groups have said the operation would lead to displacement and a humanitarian disaster in Gaza, which is already in the throes of famine.

At least 62,686 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the Gaza war 22 months ago. Israel launched its assault after the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas-led militants in which about 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage.

• The Guardian