At least 20, including journalists, rescuers, dead in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza hospital

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israel struck one of the main hospitals in the Gaza Strip on Monday and then hit the facility again as journalists and rescue workers rushed to the scene, killing at least 20 people and wounding scores more, local health workers said.

It was among the deadliest of several Israeli strikes that have hit both hospitals and journalists over the course of the 22-month war sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, and the assault came as Israel plans to widen its offensive to heavily populated areas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the strike on Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis was a “tragic mishap” and that the military was investigating.

The first strike hit an upper floor housing operating rooms and doctors’ residences, killing at least two people, according to Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the records department at the Gaza Health Ministry.

The second strike hit an external stairwell as rescuers and journalists raced to the scene of the first, killing another 18. Around 80 people were wounded, including many in the hospital’s courtyard, al-Waheidi said.

Among those killed was 33-year-old Mariam Dagga, a journalist who had worked for The Associated Press. The strike killed four other journalists who had worked for Al Jazeera, Reuters and Middle East Eye, a U.K.-based media outlet, most on a contractor or freelance basis.

Israeli media reported that Israeli troops fired two artillery shells at the hospital, targeting what they suspected was a Hamas surveillance camera on the roof.

Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, an Israeli military spokesman, said the army does not target civilians and had launched an internal investigation into the strikes. He accused Hamas of hiding among civilians but did not say whether Israel believed any militants were present during the strikes on the hospital.

Mr. Netanyahu’s statement said: “Israel deeply regrets the tragic mishap that occurred today at the Nasser Hospital in Gaza. Israel values the work of journalists, medical staff, and all civilians.”

The U.N. secretary-general, along with Britain, France and others, condemned the attack. When asked about the strike, U.S. President Trump initially said he was not aware of it before offering: “I’m not happy about it. I don’t want to see it.”

Mr. Trump later said he thought there might be a “conclusive ending” in Gaza in the coming weeks, without elaborating. It was not clear if he was referring to Israel’s coming offensive or to long-running ceasefire talks.

Israel has attacked hospitals multiple times throughout the war, asserting that Hamas embeds itself in and around the facilities, though Israeli officials rarely provide evidence. Hamas security personnel have been seen inside such facilities during the war, and parts of those sites have been off limits to the public.

The hospitals that remain open have been overwhelmed by the dead, wounded and now by increasing numbers of malnourished as parts of Gaza are experiencing famine.

The war in Gaza has been one of the bloodiest for media workers, with 189 Palestinian journalists killed by Israeli fire, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. More than 1,500 health workers have been killed, according to the U.N.

Israel’s “killing of journalists in Gaza continues while the world watches and fails to act firmly on the most horrific attacks the press has ever faced in recent history,” said Sara Qudah, regional director of the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The war began when Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the 2023 attack. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals, but 50 remain in Gaza, with around 20 believed to be alive.