UPDATES DEATH TOLL, ADDS DETAILS
By Anadolu staff
ISTANBUL (AA) – Fourteen Palestinians, including four journalists and a firefighter, were killed and several others wounded Monday in an Israeli strike on the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, health authorities and eyewitnesses said.
The Israeli army shelled the top floor of the emergency building, known as the “Al-Yassin” floor, according to an Anadolu reporter.
Medical sources told Anadolu that the death toll at Nasser Medical Complex rose from eight to 14 after six more victims were killed.
The Gaza Health Ministry said earlier in a statement that eight people were killed and several others injured in the attack.
The ministry said the Israeli army hit the fourth floor of one of the complex’s buildings by two airstrikes, noting that the second strike occurred as rescue teams arrived to evacuate the wounded and recover the dead.
Official Palestine TV reported that among the deceased was its cameraman Hussam al-Masri, while Qatari channel Al Jazeera confirmed that its photographer Mohammad Salama was also killed.
A medical source cited by Anadolu also confirmed the death of photojournalist Maryam Abu Daqqa.
Photojournalist Moaz Abu Taha was also killed in the Israeli strike targeting the hospital.
The Palestinian Civil Defense said in a statement that a fire engine driver was killed during the strike and that seven others from his team were injured while attempting to rescue victims and recover bodies.
The new deaths brought the number of journalists killed in Gaza since October 2023 to 244, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office.
Israel has killed nearly 62,700 Palestinians in a brutal assault in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.