Israel killed Al Jazeera’s Mohammad Salama and three other journalists in a strike on Gaza’s Nasser Hospital, part of its ongoing assault on the press and health workers.
Israel has killed Al Jazeera photojournalist Mohammad Salama and three other journalists during a massacre at southern Gaza’s Nasser Hospital on Monday, Gaza’s Government Media Office confirmed.
The other journalists were identified as Reuters’ Hussam Al-Masri, Mariam Abu Dagga, who worked with the Associated Press and The Independent, and NBC’s Moaz Abu Taha. They were among at least 14 people killed in the attack.
Harrowing footage aired live by Alghad TV showed Israeli forces launching another strike on paramedics and civil defence workers as they tried to rescue the wounded inside the hospital grounds.
The latest killings bring the total number of journalists killed by Israel in Gaza since October 2023 to 244, just weeks after Al Jazeera correspondent Anas Al-Sharif was killed in an Israeli airstrike.
The journalists’ deaths are part of Israel’s broader assault on Gaza, where at least 62,622 people have been killed and thousands remain trapped under rubble amid relentless bombardment.
“We hold the Israeli occupation, the American administration, and the countries participating in the genocide crime, such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, fully responsible for committing these heinous, brutal crimes,” the Government Media Office said in a statement.
Hospitals and journalists have been primary targets of Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza. Israel has repeatedly justified such strikes by claiming to target Hamas infrastructure – claims it has yet to substantiate with evidence.
According to the United Nations, Israel has killed at least 1,590 health workers and 137 civil defence staff since October. Gaza’s media office says 38 hospitals have been bombed, destroyed, or forced out of service, while 22,000 patients in need of urgent care abroad remain blocked from evacuation.
Another 16,000 people have completed paperwork for treatment outside Gaza but are still awaiting Israeli approval to leave.
The destruction of Gaza’s health system coincides with a worsening famine caused by Israel’s blockade. At least 300 people, including 117 children, have already died from malnutrition, and the toll is expected to rise sharply.
On Friday, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) formally declared famine in Gaza for the first time.
“Famine is confirmed when three critical thresholds – extreme food deprivation, acute malnutrition and starvation-related deaths – have been breached,” it said.
