Israeli strikes on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on August 25, 2025, killed at least 20 people, including five Palestinian journalists working with or contributing to international and regional news organizations. The first strike hit a position used for a Reuters live video feed; another strike followed as journalists, medical personnel, and rescue workers gathered at the scene.
The Israeli military acknowledged carrying out the attack, said journalists were not deliberately targeted, and announced an inquiry. Subsequent reporting raised significant questions about the military's identification of its target, the authorization process, and the decision to fire again while responders were at the site.
Nasser Hospital Strikes: What Happened
The strikes hit Nasser Hospital, a major medical complex in southern Gaza, on the morning of August 25. Reuters reported that at least 20 people were killed, including five journalists, and that Reuters photographer Hatem Khaled was wounded.
Reuters cameraman Hussam al-Masri, a contractor for the news agency, was killed in the initial strike. A Reuters live feed from the hospital, which al-Masri operated, stopped at the moment the position was hit.
Video from the scene showed journalists and emergency personnel responding after the first impact. Another strike then hit the area while people were gathered around the damaged stairwell. The sequence has frequently been described as a "double-tap" attack, although that description alone does not establish the intent behind the second strike.
The Five Journalists Killed
The Committee to Protect Journalists identified the journalists killed as:
- Hussam al-Masri, a Reuters contractor who operated the agency's live camera at the hospital.
- Mohammed Salama, a camera operator for Al Jazeera.
- Mariam Abu Dagga, 33, a freelance photojournalist who worked with the Associated Press and Independent Arabia.
- Moaz Abu Taha, a freelance journalist who contributed to Independent Arabia and had also worked with NBC News.
- Ahmed Abu Aziz, a freelance journalist who contributed to Quds Feed and other outlets.
The identities and affiliations are important corrections to early and inaccurate accounts of the incident. The Associated Press also documented Abu Dagga's work covering humanitarian conditions at Nasser Hospital before her death.
Israel's Explanation and Preliminary Inquiry
Israel's military said it regretted harm to uninvolved people and maintained that it does not target journalists because of their profession. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the incident that day as a "tragic mishap" and expressed regret over the deaths.
A preliminary Israeli military account subsequently said troops had identified what they believed was a camera being used by Hamas to observe Israeli forces. The military also said six militants were killed in the attack. The five journalists killed were not among those six people identified by Israel as militants, and Israeli officials did not accuse the five journalists of being combatants.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said the preliminary explanation left major questions unanswered, including whether Israeli forces knew journalists were present, what evidence supported the assessment that the camera was being used for military surveillance, and what precautions were taken before attacking a functioning hospital.
Israel had previously accused Hamas of using Nasser Hospital and other medical facilities for military purposes. Those broader allegations, however, do not by themselves establish that the journalists or the Reuters camera struck on August 25 constituted lawful military targets.
Later Evidence Challenged the Initial Account
Later reporting provided additional evidence about the attack. In September 2025, a Reuters visual investigation concluded that the camera Israel said was suspected of being used by Hamas was a Reuters camera operated by al-Masri for regular live broadcasts.
Reuters analyzed photographs, video, witness accounts, and the location of the equipment. The investigation reported that material covering the camera, which had contributed to suspicions about the equipment, was al-Masri's prayer rug, used to protect the camera from heat and dust.
Reuters also reported that the attack was conducted without authorization from the Israeli military's Southern Command that would ordinarily have been required under the circumstances. Its investigation identified questions about target verification, the choice of munitions, and the subsequent strike as rescuers and journalists reached the scene.
Those findings materially weakened the initial explanation that the camera itself had been reliably identified as Hamas surveillance equipment. They did not, however, establish through a judicial process that the journalists were intentionally targeted.
Why the Legal Questions Matter
Journalists covering armed conflict are generally protected as civilians under international humanitarian law unless and for such time as they directly participate in hostilities. Hospitals also receive special protection, although that protection can be affected under narrowly defined circumstances if a medical facility is used to commit acts harmful to the enemy outside its humanitarian function.
Whether a particular strike violates international humanitarian law depends on facts including the existence and nature of a military objective, the information reasonably available to commanders at the time, expected civilian harm, proportionality, and precautions taken before an attack.
A journalist's death in an Israeli strike therefore does not by itself prove deliberate targeting. Conversely, an assertion that a military objective existed does not by itself establish that an attack complied with international law. The circumstances of the Nasser Hospital strikes have prompted calls for an independent investigation capable of examining those questions.
Press-Freedom Groups Demand Accountability
The Committee to Protect Journalists called for a "full, transparent, and independent investigation" into the Nasser Hospital attack. CPJ has documented exceptionally high numbers of journalists and media workers killed during the Gaza war, while emphasizing that its casualty database is updated as individual cases are verified.
UNESCO separately condemned the killings of al-Masri, Salama, Abu Dagga, Abu Taha, and Abu Aziz. Different organizations publish different journalist casualty totals because their definitions and verification methodologies differ, making direct comparisons between their figures potentially misleading.
The deaths also highlighted the unusual conditions under which the Gaza war has been documented. Israel has generally prevented independent foreign journalists from entering Gaza except on tightly controlled military visits, leaving Palestinian journalists inside the territory responsible for much of the continuous independent reporting available to international news organizations.
Nasser Hospital's Role in the Gaza War
Nasser Hospital has repeatedly been caught in the fighting. Israeli forces previously operated in and around the complex and have accused Hamas of using hospital infrastructure for military activity. Hamas and Palestinian officials have disputed or challenged aspects of Israeli claims about medical facilities.
Four days before the August 25 attack, the Israeli military said it had detected a launch from an area adjacent to Nasser Hospital toward a corridor used by humanitarian aid trucks. That incident provided additional security context around the hospital but does not establish who was using the Reuters camera or whether the August 25 strikes themselves complied with international humanitarian law.
The hospital was also a crucial center for treating civilians amid the wider destruction of Gaza's health system. Its medical role made the presence of patients, health workers, displaced civilians, journalists, and emergency responders particularly relevant to decisions about targeting and precautions.
A Year Later, Key Questions Remained
The consequences of the attack extended beyond the immediate casualties. On the first anniversary in August 2026, Reuters and the Associated Press said they were still seeking a complete explanation from Israeli authorities about how the five journalists were killed and called for accountability and greater protection for journalists working in Gaza.
The available evidence establishes that Israeli forces struck Nasser Hospital, that five journalists were among those killed, and that at least one of the positions hit was being used for Reuters newsgathering. Israel says the journalists were not intended targets. Later visual investigation raised substantial questions about the intelligence and authorization behind the attack.
What remains unresolved is the central accountability question: precisely how the target was approved, why the follow-up strike occurred while journalists and rescuers were present, and whether the precautions required under international humanitarian law were taken. Those questions require evidence and independent investigation rather than assumptions about intent.
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