Palestinians mourn the loss of life of journalists who had been killed in an Israeli strike on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. Gaza’s civil protection company stated 5 journalists amongst at the least 20 different individuals killed within the strike.
Abed Rahim Khatib/image alliance by way of Getty Pictures
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Abed Rahim Khatib/image alliance by way of Getty Pictures
Editor’s be aware: This story incorporates a graphic picture.
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Israeli forces killed 22 individuals, together with 5 journalists, in two consecutive strikes on Gaza’s largest functioning hospital, drawing international condemnation and prompting a uncommon admission of remorse by the Israeli authorities.
The loss of life toll from the strikes was confirmed by Nasser Hospital’s morgue to NPR.
The journalists labored for a number of worldwide retailers, together with The Related Press, Reuters and Al Jazeera’s Arabic information channel. They had been killed by strikes on the fourth ground open stairwell of the Nasser Hospital constructing Monday morning, the place they had been standing together with first responders and medical employees.
The primary strike befell round 10 a.m. when Hussam al-Masri, a cameraman for the Reuters information company, was working a dwell feed with a fowl’s-eye view of close by Israeli navy positions, together with tanks, within the devastated metropolis of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
A second missile, fired from a tank, slammed into the identical spot simply minutes later, as rescue employees raced to Masri, with different journalists photographing and filming the aftermath of that preliminary strike, in keeping with witnesses and pictures. On the website, one other digicam feed for Al-Ghad information channel zoomed in, capturing the second of the second assault in actual time.
A journalist holds the blood-covered digicam belonging to Palestinian photojournalist Mariam Dagga, who freelanced for The Related Press and was killed in an Israeli strike on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, within the southern Gaza Strip, Monday.
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“Oh God, the rescuers are gone. They killed the people! They killed them,” the reporter yells in disbelief on dwell tv.
Different individuals killed within the assaults at Nasser Medical Advanced in Khan Younis embody medical employees, a medical resident and a primary responder, in keeping with morgue data.
It marked one of many deadliest days for the press within the Palestinian territory, the place Israeli assaults have killed 245 media employees prior to now 22 months of the warfare, in keeping with lists revealed by Palestinian journalists.
By early afternoon, fellow journalists and dozens of different individuals had gathered to mourn their useless colleagues, who had been ready for burial with their physique armor marked “PRESS” positioned on prime of their corpses that had been wrapped in white sheets.
“This is a criminal enemy that wants to silence us,” Reuters photojournalist, Hatem Omar, stated. He was amongst a number of journalists wounded within the assault.
Amongst these killed was Mariam Dagga, a contributor with The Related Press.
Freelance journalist Mariam Dagga, 33, who had been working with The Related Press and different retailers through the warfare in Gaza, poses for a portrait in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on June 14, 2024. She was among the many journalists killed Monday in Israeli strikes on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
Jehad Alshrafi/AP
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Jehad Alshrafi/AP
Her most not too long ago filed AP images confirmed emaciated, severely malnourished Palestinian youngsters in Gaza, and a story along with her byline revealed earlier this month highlighted the loss of life of a 2-year-old little one, Ro’a Mashi, who docs stated had “wasted away over months as her family struggled to find food and treatment.”
Within the closing video of herself shared on Instagram, and posted simply earlier than her loss of life, the 33-year-old stands in entrance of a mirror taking deep breaths to the backdrop of a music about ascending to heaven. She seems to be gaunt and pale — a glimpse of the hunger and exhaustion journalists and different Palestinians face in Gaza.
The AP says Dagga evacuated her 13-year-old son out of Gaza early within the warfare, and hadn’t seen him since. The information company stated it was “shocked and saddened to learn” of her loss of life. Reuters stated in a press release it was “devastated” to find out about al-Masri’s loss of life, in addition to that of one other journalist, Moaz Abu Taha, who had often labored for the information wire. It stated it was “urgently seeking more information” in addition to medical help for Hatem Khaled, one other Reuters contractor wounded in the identical assault.
Al Jazeera stated cameraman Mohammad Salama was the tenth of its journalists to be killed by Israel in Gaza on this warfare, calling the assault an “atrocity.” It stated it “condemns, in the strongest possible terms, this horrific crime.” The outlet stated the blood had not but dried on an assault simply two weeks in the past that killed six journalists, 5 of them with Al Jazeera, together with Gaza’s most distinguished and well-known reporter, Anas al-Sharif in a focused Israeli airstrike.
In a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the navy’s prime brass, Reuters and AP expressed their “outrage” and demanded a swift and clear investigation.
“We are outraged that independent journalists were among the victims of this strike on the hospital, a location that is protected under international law,” the letter stated.
However they raised doubts about how Israel investigates navy actions. “We have found the [Israeli military’s] willingness and ability to investigate itself in past incidents to rarely result in clarity and action, raising serious questions including whether Israel is deliberately targeting live feeds in order to suppress information,” the letter stated.
The Committee to Defend Journalists condemned the assault. “Israel’s broadcasted 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,” CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah stated.
The Overseas Press Affiliation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, which represents a whole lot of journalists together with NPR reporters, stated the assault ought to mark a watershed second as Israel continues to dam impartial entry to Gaza to international journalists and kills journalists in Gaza with out justification.
“We call on Israel once and for all to halt its abhorrent practice of targeting journalists,” stated a press release from the affiliation.
Inside hours of the incident, the Israeli navy had acknowledged the assault, however by late Monday had not but recognized any particular goal. “The IDF does not intentionally target civilians,” Israeli navy spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin stated in a video assertion on social media, utilizing the initials for the Israeli navy. “We regret any harm to uninvolved individuals.”
The workplace of Israel’s prime minister issued a press release saying Israel “deeply regrets the tragic mishap” on the hospital, including that it “values the work of journalists, medical staff, and all civilians.” The assertion provided no additional particulars on what accountability there could be for the killing of twenty-two individuals within the assault.
Anas Baba reported from Khan Younis, Gaza, and Aya Batrawy from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
