Israel Says Targeted Hamas Camera In Strikes That Killed Gaza Journalists

The Israeli military on Tuesday said its forces were targeting a camera operated by Hamas in two strikes that killed five journalists at a hospital a day earlier, triggering a wave of international condemnation. 

The ongoing war in Gaza has been one of the deadliest for journalists, with around 200 media workers killed over the course of the nearly two-year Israeli assault, according to press watchdogs.

Monday's strike in southern Gaza's Khan Yunis killed at least 20 people, including the five reporters who worked for Al Jazeera, the Associated Press and Reuters, among other outlets.

Gaza's civil defence agency said an initial Israeli explosive drone hit a building at the hospital, followed by an air strike as the wounded were being evacuated.

The military on Tuesday said the strikes on the medical centre came after its soldiers "identified a camera that was positioned by Hamas in the area of the Nasser Hospital", adding that they "operated to remove the threat by striking and dismantling the camera".

"Six of the individuals killed were terrorists," it said, adding that the chief of staff instructed "to further examine several gaps", including the "authorisation process prior to the strike".

Hours after the strike, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed regret over what he called a "tragic mishap". 

The strike was condemned by a range of voices, including Israel's traditional allies, as well as the UN, media outlets, rights groups and the Israel-based Foreign Press Association. 

Earlier this month, four Al Jazeera staff and two freelancers were killed in an Israeli air strike outside Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.

The Israeli military alleged that Anas al-Sharif -- a prominent Al Jazeera correspondent killed in the strike -- headed a Hamas "terrorist cell" and was "responsible for advancing rocket attacks" against Israelis.

The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 62,819 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.

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