Israeli Double Strike on Gaza Hospital Leaves 20 Dead, Including Five Journalists
A deadly Israeli double strike on Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza has killed at least 20 people, including five journalists, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry. The attack, which struck rescuers just moments after the first blast, has sparked outrage across the world.
Those killed included reporters and photographers working with Reuters, the Associated Press, Al Jazeera and Middle East Eye. Reuters confirmed that its cameraman, Husam al-Masri, died while operating a live feed on the hospital roof.
The broadcast cut out at the moment of the first strike. Another Reuters contributor, Hatem Khaled, was wounded in the second blast.
AP mourned the loss of 33-year-old freelancer Mariam Dagga, saying it was “shocked and saddened” by her death. Al Jazeera’s Mohammad Salama, Middle East Eye freelancer Ahmed Abu Aziz and photographer Moaz Abu Taha were also among those killed.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said the Gaza war has become the deadliest conflict for reporters ever recorded. Nearly 200 journalists have been killed since October 2023—more than were killed worldwide over the past three years combined.
Video from the hospital shows the grim sequence. After the first strike, a doctor displayed blood-soaked clothes to gathered reporters. Seconds later, another blast tore through the area, sending glass, smoke and rubble flying.
Israel bombs rescue workers at Nasir hospital as they attempted to retrieve the body of journalist Hossam Al-Masri, murdered in an Israeli strike on the same hospital moments earlier
This practice is called “double tap strikes”! pic.twitter.com/8zmYlZgCu8
— Muhammad Shehada (@muhammadshehad2) August 25, 2025
In another live broadcast by al-Ghad TV, journalists and paramedics can be seen responding to casualties when a direct hit lands on their position. The footage shows chaos, dust and bodies on the hospital staircase—long used by media crews for vantage shots over Khan Yunis.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the incident as a “tragic mishap” and pledged a full investigation.
But global leaders and agencies voiced fury. UN chief António Guterres said: “These latest horrific killings highlight the extreme risks that medical personnel and journalists face as they carry out their vital work amid this brutal conflict.” He called for an immediate ceasefire and a swift, independent probe.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN’s refugee agency UNRWA, warned the killings risk “silencing the last remaining voices reporting about children dying silently amid famine.”
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he was “horrified” by the strike, while French President Emmanuel Macron called it “intolerable.”
The Hamas-run health ministry reported that 58 bodies reached Gaza’s hospitals on Monday alone, with many more trapped beneath the rubble of bombed-out buildings.
As highlighted in a recent report, earlier strikes have already undermined ceasefire talks, with violence and humanitarian suffering continuing to spiral.
Among them were 28 people killed while attempting to collect food aid. Hospitals also noted 11 new deaths linked to malnutrition, including two children, bringing the total of starvation-related fatalities to 300.
Since Israel’s military campaign began in response to Hamas’s 7 October attack, which killed about 1,200 Israelis and saw 251 taken hostage, more than 62,700 Palestinians have died, according to figures verified by the UN.
International journalists have been barred from entering Gaza independently since the conflict erupted. Most foreign outlets rely heavily on local reporters, the same reporters now being killed at unprecedented rates.
As Philippe Lazzarini warned, without them, the world risks losing its eyes and ears in Gaza.
