Israeli Strike on Gaza Hospital Leaves 15 Dead, Including Journalists
Airstrike Hits Medical Facility Amid Escalating Conflict
At least 15 people, including several journalists, were killed when an Israeli airstrike struck a hospital in central Gaza on Sunday night, local health officials confirmed. The incident has drawn widespread condemnation and renewed concerns over the targeting of civilian and medical infrastructure in the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict.
The strike reportedly hit an administrative wing of the hospital that had been used by both medical staff and journalists covering the war. Video footage from the scene showed chaotic scenes of bloodied victims being rushed out of the compound, while emergency responders struggled to carry stretchers through debris-filled hallways.
Journalists Among the Dead
Among the casualties were at least three Palestinian journalists who had been stationed at the hospital to report on the humanitarian crisis unfolding inside Gaza. Their deaths add to the rising toll of media professionals killed since the conflict intensified last month.
The Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate denounced the strike as “a deliberate attempt to silence truth and block the world from seeing the suffering of Gaza’s civilians.” International press freedom groups, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), have called for an independent investigation.
“We are appalled by the killing of our colleagues in what should be a place of safety,” CPJ said in a statement. “Journalists are civilians and must never be targeted in conflict zones.”
Israel’s Response
The Israeli military has not yet issued a detailed statement on the hospital strike but has maintained that its forces target Hamas positions embedded in civilian areas. In earlier briefings, officials argued that hospitals and schools in Gaza have been used by militants as command centers or weapons storage facilities — a claim that Palestinian authorities strongly deny.
“While we continue our operations to dismantle terrorist infrastructure, we are reviewing reports of civilian casualties,” an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said.
The IDF has repeatedly insisted that Hamas bears responsibility for endangering civilians by operating within densely populated neighborhoods. Critics, however, argue that such justifications cannot excuse the destruction of protected sites under international law, including hospitals.
Mounting Humanitarian Crisis
The strike comes at a time when Gaza’s healthcare system is already on the brink of collapse. Hospitals in the enclave are struggling with critical shortages of medicine, electricity, and medical supplies as Israeli bombardments and blockades cut off access to essentials.
Doctors at the struck facility said they had been operating with minimal equipment and that the latest attack has further crippled their ability to treat the wounded. “We were already overwhelmed,” one surgeon said. “Now, we are losing our colleagues and patients inside the very place meant to save lives.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that Gaza’s hospitals risk becoming “graveyards” unless urgent humanitarian corridors are established. Calls for a ceasefire to allow medical relief have grown louder but remain stalled amid ongoing hostilities.
International Reactions
The attack has triggered a wave of international criticism. The United Nations reiterated that hospitals and journalists are protected under international humanitarian law, urging all parties to uphold their obligations.
“The killing of civilians, including medical workers and journalists, is unacceptable,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement. “Hospitals are sanctuaries of healing, not battlegrounds.”
Neighboring countries including Egypt and Jordan condemned the strike, with Cairo warning that continued attacks on civilian infrastructure could “escalate the conflict into uncontrollable territory.”
Meanwhile, rights groups have pressed for accountability. Human Rights Watch stated that repeated attacks on medical facilities in Gaza “may amount to war crimes.”
Escalation Continues
The hospital strike is the latest in a series of deadly incidents that have marked the escalation of violence between Israel and Hamas. The ongoing bombardments have killed thousands of Palestinians, while Israel continues to face rocket fire into its southern cities.
Diplomatic efforts to mediate a ceasefire have so far failed, leaving civilians trapped in the crossfire. As night fell in Gaza following the hospital tragedy, residents described a grim reality: the very places where they seek care and refuge are now under threat.
For families mourning loved ones — journalists documenting the war, patients seeking treatment, and doctors working tirelessly — the strike has underscored the devastating cost of the conflict and the shrinking spaces of safety in the besieged enclave.
