Israel’s strikes on Gaza hospital kill journos, rescuers; Netanyahu calls it ‘mishap’

Israel struck Nasser Hospital, one of the main hospitals in the Gaza Strip, twice on Monday (August 25), hitting the facility for the second time as journalists and rescue workers rushed to the scene, killing at least 20 people and wounding scores more.

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' October 7, 2023, attack. The Monday attack 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.

Five journalists killed

The first strike hit an upper floor of the hospital 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.

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Among those killed was 33-year-old Mariam Dagga, a visual journalist who worked for AP. The four other journalists worked for Al Jazeera, Reuters and Middle East Eye, a UK-based media outlet, mostly on a contract or freelance basis.

According to Reuters, ahead of the first strike, it was showing live video from the hospital when the feed suddenly shut down. The journalist filming the live video was killed in the first strike, Reuters said, citing hospital officials.

Video shot from across the street by pan-Arab channel Al Ghad showed people climbing the external stairwell just after the first strike, past walls with chunks shorn off — followed by the boom of the second strike, a huge plume of smoke and a heap of wreckage.

Also read: Israeli strikes kill 25 in Gaza; famine declared in Gaza City

Investigation underway

Israel said it is investigating the matter. 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.

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

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 over the course of the war, and parts of those sites have been off limits to reporters and 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 now in famine.

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It was chaotic, say doctors

A British doctor working on the floor that was hit said the second strike came before people could start evacuating from the first.

“Just absolute scenes of chaos, disbelief and fear,” the doctor said. They described wounded people leaving trails of blood as they entered the ward. The hospital was already overwhelmed, with patients with IV drips lying on the floor in the corridors in stifling heat.

The doctor spoke on condition of anonymity, in line with regulations from their organisation, to avoid reprisals from Israeli authorities.

“It leaves me in another state of shock that hospitals can be a target,” the doctor said.

Nasser Hospital has withstood raids and bombardment during the war, with officials repeatedly noting critical shortages of supplies and staff. A March strike on its surgical unit, days after Israel ended a ceasefire, killed a Hamas official and a 16-year-old boy. A June strike on the hospital killed three people, according to the Health Ministry. The Israeli military said at the time that it targeted a Hamas command and control centre.

Al-Awda said two Israeli strikes in central Gaza killed six Palestinians, including a child. Shifa Hospital in Gaza City said three Palestinians, including a child were killed in a strike there.

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Attacks on the aid-seeking population

More Palestinians were killed while seeking aid. Al-Awda Hospital said Israeli gunfire killed six aid-seekers trying to reach a distribution point in central Gaza and wounded another 15.

Netzarim Corridor witnessed the latest shootings. Netzarim Corridor is a military zone where UN convoys have been looted and people have been shot and killed while heading to sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed American contractor.

The GHF denied that any shootings had occurred near its site. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has said after previous shootings that it only fires warning shots.

The war in Gaza has been one of the bloodiest for media workers. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 189 Palestinian journalists have been killed by Israeli fire. According to the UN, more than 1,500 health workers have been killed.

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The health ministry said Sunday that at least 62,686 Palestinians have been killed in the war. It does not distinguish between fighters and civilians but says around half have been women and children.

The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The UN and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own.

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.

Israel plans to withdraw from Lebanon

Amid the dire Gaza situation, Netanyahu said on Monday (August 25) that Israeli forces could begin withdrawing from the territory they hold in southern Lebanon. This announcement came after the Lebanese Cabinet’s “momentous decision” earlier this month to work toward the disarmament of the militant group Hezbollah by the end of 2025.

Netanyahu said if Lebanon takes the necessary steps to disarm Hezbollah, then Israel will respond with reciprocal measures, including a phased reduction of the Israeli military presence in southern Lebanon.

Since the Israel-Hezbollah war ended in November 2024 with a US-brokered ceasefire, Hezbollah officials have said the group will not discuss its disarmament until Israel withdraws from five hills it controls inside Lebanon and stops almost daily airstrikes. Those strikes have killed or wounded hundreds of people, most of them Hezbollah members.

Lebanon's Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri told The Associated Press in response that Israel has an obligation to comply with the ceasefire agreement, “which has not yet happened”. “Lebanon's position is clear. Israel must commit to the cessation of hostilities,” Mitri said, referring to Israel's almost daily airstrikes since the ceasefire went into effect. He added that Israel should also withdraw from Lebanon and release Lebanese prisoners it is holding.

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The Hezbollah leadership has vowed not to disarm, saying the national government’s decision to remove the Iran-backed group’s weapons by the end of the year serves Israel’s interests.

(With agency inputs)