Pallade Veneta - Five journalists among 20 killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza hospital

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said "the toll so far is 20 martyrs, including five journalists and one member of the civil defence", after strikes hit Khan Yunis's Nasser Hospital -- a large medical complex that has been targeted several times by Israel since the start of the war.

According to the media watchdogs Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders, around 200 journalists have been killed in nearly two years of war between Israel and Hamas.

In a statement, the Israeli military said its troops on Monday "carried out a strike in the area of Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis".

"The Chief of the General Staff instructed to conduct an initial inquiry as soon as possible," it said, adding it "regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and does not target journalists as such".

The civil defence's Bassal said an Israeli explosive drone targeted a building at the hospital, followed by an air strike as the wounded were being evacuated.

A spokesperson for Qatar-based TV network Al Jazeera said on Monday that one of its photojournalists and cameramen, Mohammad Salama, was killed in the attack.

"Al Jazeera Media Network condemns, in the strongest possible terms, this horrific crime committed by the Israeli occupation forces, who have directly targeted and assassinated journalists as part of a systematic campaign to silence the truth," the broadcaster said in a statement.

The Associated Press said in a statement that it was "shocked and saddened" to learn of the death of Mariam Dagga, 33, a visual journalist who had freelanced for the agency since the start of the war.

In an earlier statement, it said Dagga had not been on an assignment with the agency when she was killed.

A spokesperson for Reuters said: "We are devastated to learn of the death of Reuters contractor Hussam al-Masri and injuries to another of our contractors, Hatem Khaled, in Israeli strikes on the Nasser hospital in Gaza today."

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

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate named two other victims as Moaz Abu Taha and Ahmad Abu Aziz.

According to AFP journalists, Abu Taha had worked with some Palestinian and international outlets.

- Smoke, bloodied bodies -

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

AFP footage from the immediate aftermath of the attack showed smoke filling the air and debris from the blast on the floor outside the hospital.

Palestinians rushed to help the victims, carrying bloodied corpses and severed body parts into the medical complex. One body could be seen dangling from the top floor of the targeted building as a man screamed below.

A woman wearing medical scrubs and a white coat was among the injured, carried into the hospital on a stretcher with a heavily bandaged leg and blood all over her clothes.

Nasser Hospital is one of the last remaining health facilities in the Gaza Strip that is at least partially functioning.

Later in the day, a crowd carried the bodies of some of the slain journalists at a funeral in Khan Yunis, with the dead wrapped in white burial shrouds and their press flak jackets resting on top.

- 'Immediate explanation' -

Following the strike, the Israel-based Foreign Press Association called for an "immediate explanation" from the military and prime minister's office.

"We call on Israel once and for all to halt its abhorrent practice of targeting journalists," the group said in a statement.

Earlier this month, four Al Jazeera staff and two freelancers were killed in an Israeli air strike outside Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, prompting widespread condemnation.

The Israeli military alleged that Anas al-Sharif -- a prominent Al Jazeera correspondent killed in the strike -- headed a Hamas "terrorist cell" and was "responsible for advancing rocket attacks" against Israelis.

The Committee to Protect Journalists slammed that strike, saying journalists should never be targeted in war.

The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 62,744 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.

E.M.Filippelli--PV