Israel struck Nasser Hospital in the south of the Gaza Strip on Monday, killing at least 20 people, including five journalists who worked for Reuters, the Associated Press, Al Jazeera and others.

Cameraman Hussam al-Masri, a Reuters contractor, was killed near a live broadcasting position operated by Reuters on an upper floor just below the roof of the hospital in Khan Younis in an initial strike, Palestinian health officials said.

Hospital officials and witnesses said Israel then struck the site – the last operational one in southern Gaza – a second time, killing additional journalists, rescue workers, and medics who had rushed to help.

The journalists killed included Mariam Abu Dagga, a freelancer for the Associated Press and other outlets; Mohammed Salama, who worked for Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera; Moaz Abu Taha, a freelance journalist who occasionally contributed to Reuters and other organizations; and Ahmed Abu Aziz.

Photographer Hatem Khaled, also a Reuters contractor, was wounded.

Condemnations

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the deadly airstrikes and called for a prompt and impartial investigation.

"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," UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement on Monday. 

The Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit on Monday condemned the strike, calling it "just one episode in a relentless series of massacres deliberately targeting civilians."

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry labelled it a "new episode in a long series of blatant Israeli violations of international humanitarian law."

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the Palestinian presidency urged the international community, particularly the UN and the UN Security Council, to provide protection for journalists and hold Israel accountable.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate condemned Israel for the strikes, saying it represented "an open war against free media, with the aim of terrorizing journalists and preventing them from fulfilling their professional duty of exposing its crimes to the world."

The syndicate said more than 240 Palestinian journalists had been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas conflict started on October 7, 2023.

'Tragic mishap'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Monday that Israel deeply regretted what he called a "tragic mishap," adding that the country valued the work of journalists and medical staff.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged striking the area of Nasser Hospital and said the chief of the general staff had ordered an inquiry.

The IDF "regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and does not target journalists as such. The IDF acts to mitigate harm to uninvolved individuals as much as possible while maintaining the safety of IDF troops," it said.

The IDF spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin said in a late Monday statement that the military, in line with international law, was obligated to investigate.

"As always, we will present our findings as transparently as possible," Defrin said.

Israel has barred all foreign journalists from entering the Gaza Strip since the start of the war in 2023. Reporting from the territory throughout the Israel-Hamas conflict has been done by Palestinian journalists, many of whom have worked for many years for international media organizations, including wire services such as Reuters and the Associated Press.

(With input from agencies)