GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (BN24) — Four journalists were killed Monday in an Israeli strike on a hospital in southern Gaza, including a freelancer who worked for The Associated Press, health officials reported.
Mariam Dagga, 33, a visual journalist who had freelanced for AP and other news organizations since the Gaza war began, was among those killed in the strike on Nasser Hospital, according to Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Health Ministry’s records department.
The hospital strike killed 19 people total, al-Waheidi said.
Dagga, who has a 12-year-old son evacuated from Gaza earlier in the conflict, had been based at Nasser Hospital and recently reported on doctors’ efforts to treat malnourished children.
Al Jazeera confirmed its journalist Mohammed Salam died in the Nasser Hospital strike. Reuters reported contractor cameraman Hussam al-Masri was killed and contractor photographer Hatem Khaled was wounded in the same incident.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s office and Israeli military declined to comment on the strike.
The Israel-Hamas war has become one of the deadliest conflicts for media workers on record. At least 192 journalists have been killed in Gaza during the 22-month conflict, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. By comparison, 18 journalists have died in Russia’s war in Ukraine, the CPJ reported.
Israel has barred international media from covering the war except for rare guided tours. News organizations rely primarily on Palestinian journalists and Gaza residents to document events in the territory.
Israel has questioned the affiliations and objectivity of Palestinian journalists while preventing international reporters from entering Gaza independently.
Gaza-based journalists face the same challenges finding food and shelter for their families as the civilians they cover, according to media organizations operating in the region.
The Associated Press expressed shock and sadness over Dagga’s death and the killing of other journalists in a statement Monday.
Source: AP
