This view shows the fourth floor of Nasser Medical Complex damaged after an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis, Gaza.
Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images
- Hamas challenged Israel’s narrative of the attack which killed 21.
- Israel claimed it targeted a Hamas camera.
- But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu labelled the attack a “tragic mishap”.
Hamas has said that none of the 21 people killed in an Israeli attack on Nasser Hospital was a member of the Palestinian movement, after the Israeli military claimed it had targeted a Hamas surveillance camera and killed six fighters in its attack on the medical facility.
In a statement reported by the Reuters news agency on Wednesday, Hamas challenged the Israeli government’s account that claimed to name six fighters killed in the attack, which has drawn global condemnation for targeting journalists, medics, rescue workers and civilians.
Hamas said that at least two of the six Palestinians named by the Israeli military were not killed in the shocking double strike on the hospital, but at other times and locations, including one who was killed in al-Mawasi, some distance from the hospital in Khan Younis.
Earlier, the Israeli military claimed that its “initial investigation” into its own attack on the southern Gaza hospital showed that the target was a camera positioned in the area and used by Hamas to monitor Israeli troop movements.
“In light of this, the force acted to destroy the camera,” the Israeli army said.
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At the moment of the initial Israeli strike on Monday, a Reuters news agency live video feed, which cameraman Hussam al-Masri had been operating, suddenly shut down.
This is a damaged camera following Israeli attacks on the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis, located in the southern Gaza Strip.
Abdallah F.s. Alattar/Anadolu via Getty Images
Al-Masri was killed in the attack.
Minutes later, a second strike was filmed live as it killed rescue workers and four more journalists who had run to the scene to help the victims of the initial Israeli strike.
The other four journalists killed in the attack were Ahmed Abu Aziz, Mariam Abu Daqqa, Mohammad Salama and Moaz Abu Taha.
The attack was a double-tap strike, in which Israeli forces bombed the facility, then waited for emergency responders and journalists to arrive on the scene, before bombing it a second time in order to maximise casualties.
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Israel routinely justifies its deadly attacks on civilians across Gaza by saying it was targeting Hamas.
Human rights groups have accused the Israeli military of committing war crimes in its indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza, with a recent report finding that 83% of all those killed since Israel began its war on the enclave have been civilians.
Before she was killed in an Israeli air attack on Gaza’s Nasser Hospital, Palestinian journalist Mariam Abu Daqqa had written a goodbye letter to her young son, Gaith. These are Mariam’s words, narrated by a fellow Palestinian journalist. pic.twitter.com/UOxRLgv0Zm
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) August 26, 2025Al Jazeera reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed the attack was a “tragic mishap”.
Israeli forces killed another journalist in a separate incident in Khan Younis later on Monday, bringing the death toll of journalists to six.
The attack came as Israel has intensified its offensive to seize Gaza City, the main urban centre in the enclave of 2.3 million people, despite a famine being declared last week.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy expressed horror at the attack.
“Horrified by Israel’s attack on Nasser hospital. Civilians, healthcare workers and journalists must be protected. We need an immediate ceasefire,” Lammy wrote in a post on X.
Horrified by Israel’s attack on Nasser hospital. Civilians, healthcare workers and journalists must be protected. We need an immediate ceasefire.
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) August 25, 2025The Spanish Foreign Ministry issued a statement decrying the strike as a flagrant violation of humanitarian law.
“The Spanish government condemns the Israeli attack on the Nasser Hospital in Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of four journalists and innocent civilians,” the ministry said.
“We reiterate that specially protected sites cannot be targeted. This is a flagrant and unacceptable violation of international humanitarian law, which must be investigated,” it said.
The statement stressed the importance of special protection for journalists, and reaffirmed Spain’s “full commitment” to the right of access to information.
Germany said it was “shocked by the killing of several journalists, rescue workers, and other civilians”.
“This attack must be investigated,” the German Foreign Ministry said on X, also calling on Israel to “allow immediate independent foreign media access and afford protection for journalists operating in Gaza”.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the strikes were “intolerable”.
“Civilians and journalists must be protected under all circumstances. The media must be able to carry out their mission freely and independently to cover the reality of the conflict,” Macron said in a post on X.
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