The Israeli military bombed Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on Monday, killing five journalists, including staff working for the Associated Press, Reuters, NBC and Al Jazeera.
In total, 21 people were killed in a “double-tap” strike – one missile hitting first, then another moments later, as rescue workers and journalists arrived – on southern Gaza’s main medical facility.
One of those killed was freelance photographer Moaz Abu Taha.
Reuters photojournalist Hussam al-Masri was one of those five journalists killed in the attack.
Moreover, Mohammed Salama, who was a photographer who worked for Al Jazeera and Middle East Eye, was the other journalist killed there. Also, Mariam Dagga, 33, was a freelance journalist working with the Associated Press (AP). She was one of the five journalists killed in an Israeli strike on Monday.
Also on the same day, the Israeli regime's army killed another journalist in a separate incident in Khan Younis later, bringing the death toll of journalists to six.
The Israeli military’s killing of six Palestinian journalists and the attack on Nasser hospital in Gaza has caused global condemnation.
The attack comes as Israeli regime has intensified its offensive to seize Gaza City, the main urban centre in the enclave of 2.3 million people, despite a famine being declared last week.
Here are some reactions to the latest slaughter of journalists in the invaded enclave:
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
The Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has been holding an extraordinary meeting in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah to discuss the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people.
According to Al Jazeera report, the OIC condemned the Israeli army’s killing of journalists and media professionals as a “war crime” and an “assault on press freedom”.
China condemns Israeli strike on Gaza hospital that killed 21
We are shocked and condemn the fact that medical personnel and journalists have once again unfortunately lost their lives in the conflict,” China Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters. “We express our condolences to the victims and our sympathies to their families.”
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said the attack on the Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza killed 21 people on the hospital’s fourth floor in what has been described as a “double-tap” strike, when one missile hits first, then another moments later as rescue crews arrived.
Australia foreign minister says Israeli attack on Nasser Hospital ‘horrific’
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong has called on Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire in a statement released after Israel’s deadly attack on Nasser Hospital on Monday.
“What we’ve seen overnight with the attack on a hospital is horrific, and what we would say to Prime Minister Netanyahu is you should heed the call of the world and agree to a ceasefire,” the minister said in a statement, according to the ABC broadcaster.
“You should take the advice of your own military and agree to a ceasefire. This war must stop,” Wong added, according to Al Jazeera.
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
The PFLP, a left-wing Palestinian faction founded in 1967, said the attack was proof of “the absolute brutality and sadism of the [Israeli] occupation”.
It said it held Israel and its allies responsible, adding that supporters, led by the US administration, are “fully responsible for this organised crime”.
The PFLP is the second-largest group in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) after Fatah.
Qatar
Qatar said it considers this Israeli attack a new episode “in the ongoing series of heinous crimes committed by the occupation against brotherly Palestinian people and a blatant violation of international law”.
Iran
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said the attacks constituted a “barbaric war crime”, committed by Israel to advance its plan for the “genocide of Palestinians”.
The US and other allies of Israel that have armed it during the war must be accountable to the international community after being complicit in Israel’s “horrific crimes”, Esmaeil Baghaei said in a short statement.
Turkey
Ankara denounced the strikes as “another war crime”.
“Press freedom and human values have once again been targeted, under the shadow of genocide, amidst the anguished cries of the innocent,” Burhanettin Duran, the head of Turkey’s presidential communications directorate, said in a post on X.
“Israel, which continues its atrocities without regard for any humanitarian or legal principles, is under the illusion that it can prevent the truth from being revealed through its systematic attacks on journalists.”
Egypt
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry also strongly condemned the attack, describing it as another “blatant violation of international humanitarian law”.
“Egypt expresses its strong denunciation of the Israeli occupation’s deliberate targeting of journalists and workers in the medical and humanitarian field, and rejects the crimes of genocide it is committing against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip,” it said, calling on the international community and the United Nations Security Council to intervene.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry condemned Israel’s attack on medical personnel and journalists, Al Jazeera reported.
“The Ministry stresses the Kingdom’s rejection of Israel’s ongoing violations of international law and norms,” it said.
“The Kingdom reiterates its call on the international community to put an end to these Israeli crimes and emphasizes the need to protect medical, relief, and media personnel.”
United Kingdom
Foreign Secretary David Lammy expressed horror at the attack.
“Horrified by Israel’s attack on Nasser hospital. Civilians, healthcare workers and journalists must be protected. We need an immediate ceasefire,” Lammy wrote in a post on X.
Spain
The Spanish Foreign Ministry issued a statement decrying the strike as a flagrant violation of humanitarian law.
“The Spanish government condemns the Israeli attack on the Nasser Hospital in Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of four journalists and innocent civilians,” the ministry said.
“We reiterate that specially protected sites cannot be targeted. This is a flagrant and unacceptable violation of international humanitarian law, which must be investigated,” it said.
The statement stressed the importance of special protection for journalists, and reaffirmed Spain’s “full commitment” to the right of access to information.
Germany
Germany said it was “shocked by the killing of several journalists, rescue workers, and other civilians”.
“This attack must be investigated,” the Foreign Ministry said on X, also calling on Israel to “allow immediate independent foreign media access and afford protection for journalists operating in Gaza”.
France
French President Emmanuel Macron said the strikes were “intolerable”.
“Civilians and journalists must be protected under all circumstances. The media must be able to carry out their mission freely and independently to cover the reality of the conflict,” Macron said in a post on X.
“Reducing a population to famine is a crime that must stop immediately,” he added.
Canada
Canada condemned the attack and said that Israel had an obligation to protect civilians in the combat zone.
“Canada is horrified by the Israeli military strike at the Nasser Hospital in Gaza, which killed five journalists and many civilians, including rescuers and health officials. Such attacks are unacceptable,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Committee to Protect Journalists
The CPJ called for the international community to hold Israel accountable for its “continued unlawful attacks on the press”.
In a statement, CPJ’s regional director, Sara Qudah, said that Israel’s killing of journalists in the enclave continues while “the world watches and fails to act firmly on the most horrific attacks the press has ever faced in recent history.
“These murders must end now. The perpetrators must no longer be allowed to act with impunity,” Qudah said, according to Al Jazeera, which closely monitors the developments surrounding the US-Israeli war on Gaza.
UN secretary-general
Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the killing of Palestinians in Israeli strikes that struck Nasser Hospital and called for an investigation, spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.
“The Secretary-General recalls that civilians, including medical personnel and journalists, must be respected and protected at all times. He calls for a prompt, impartial investigation into these killings,” Dujarric told reporters.
Meanwhile, the UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said in a statement, “The killing of journalists in Gaza should shock the world – not into stunned silence but into action, demanding accountability and justice.”
The United Nations human rights office:
The United Nations human rights office insists "there needs to be justice" after at least 20 people - including five journalists - were killed in an attack at a hospital in southern Gaza on Monday, BBC reported.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva this morning, a spokesperson for the UN human rights office has stressed that "these investigations need to yield results".
"These journalists are the eyes and the ears of the whole world and they must be protected," says Thameen Al-Kheetan at a press briefing.
"There needs to be justice. We haven't seen results or accountability measures yet."
UN envoy Francesca Albanese
“Rescuers killed in line of duty. Scenes like this unfold every moment in Gaza, often unseen, largely undocumented,” said Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, in a post on X.
“I beg states: how much more must be witnessed before you act to stop this carnage? Break the blockade. Impose an Arms Embargo. Impose Sanctions,” she wrote.
MNA