AP and Reuters have issued a joint statement on the first anniversary of the Israeli strike on Nasser Hospital that left five reporters dead
Published 26 Aug, 2026 14:45
The camera, press vest, helmet and mobile phone of Mariam Abu Dagga, one of the five journalists killed in the Israeli strike on Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis on August 25, 2025. © Doaa Albaz/Anadolu via Getty Images
AP and Reuters have demanded answers from Israel over last year’s strike on Nasser Hospital in Gaza, which killed more than 20 people, including five journalists.
In a joint statement on Tuesday, marking the first anniversary of the August 25, 2025 attack, the news agencies said Israel had yet to provide the “clear answers and accountability that an incident of this gravity requires.” They stressed that the journalists were killed at a hospital, a site protected under international law and a key location for news coverage from Gaza.
The victims included Reuters cameraman Hussam al-Masri, visual journalist Mariam Dagga, who worked for AP and other outlets, and Moaz Abu Taha, a freelancer who collaborated with Reuters. The other two reporters slain in the attack were Al Jazeera photographer Mohammad Salama and Ahmed Abu Aziz, who worked for the Quds Feed Network and several other media outlets.
Reuters also renewed its demand for an explanation over the October 2023 death of visuals journalist Issam Abdallah, who was killed by Israeli tank fire while reporting in southern Lebanon.
“We again call on the government of Israel to explain the deaths of these journalists and take every step necessary to protect journalists covering the conflict,” AP and Reuters said.
The IDF acknowledged carrying out the ‘double-tap’ strike on Nasser Hospital. It later said it regretted harm to “uninvolved individuals,” denied deliberately targeting journalists, and promised an inquiry.
The attack came two weeks after four Al Jazeera journalists were killed in an Israeli strike near al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Israel has repeatedly faced accusations of targeting reporters since launching its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza in October 2023.
In March, RT correspondent Steve Sweeney and cameraman Ali Rida Sbeity narrowly escaped death when a missile struck less than ten meters from their position in southern Lebanon, leaving both with shrapnel wounds. Sweeney later told RT’s Rick Sanchez that he believed the attack was deliberate, noting that both journalists were wearing clearly visible press markings.
In February, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Israel was responsible for two-thirds of the 129 journalists and media workers killed worldwide in 2025. It described Gaza as the deadliest assignment for journalists since the organization began collecting data in 1992.
CPJ also said that Israel had conducted few transparent investigations and that no one had been held accountable in the cases it examined.
The IDF has “strongly” rejected the allegations that it intentionally targets journalists or their families.
