Israeli Strikes on Media Tents Outside Gaza Hospitals Kill Journalist and Wound Six Reporters

At least two people, including a journalist, were killed and nine others injured — six of them media workers — after Israeli airstrikes targeted tents outside two major hospitals in the Gaza Strip overnight, Palestinian medics reported Monday.

A major strike around 2 a.m. hit a media tent outside Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, setting it ablaze and killing Yousef al-Faqawi, a reporter for the Palestine Today news website, along with another man. Six reporters were wounded in the attack, two of whom are in critical condition,  one suffering from severe burns and another with a serious head injury, hospital staff confirmed.

The blaze engulfed the tent site rapidly, with eyewitnesses telling Al Jazeera that those nearby were unable to save individuals trapped by the flames.

Another Israeli airstrike hit tents near Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central city of Deir al-Balah, wounding three more people. The hospitals also received dozens of casualties from other strikes across the Strip overnight. Nasser Hospital said it received 13 bodies, including six women and four children. Al-Aqsa Hospital reported two people killed and three wounded from a separate strike on a home in Deir al-Balah.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed it had targeted a Hamas militant in the area but did not provide further details. It reiterated that it aims to avoid civilian casualties, blaming Hamas for operating within residential zones an allegation denied by hospital staff.

This latest assault came as Israel intensified its 18-month military campaign on Gaza, with the war resuming on March 18 after a brief ceasefire. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, over 50,000 Palestinians mostly women and children have been killed since the war began on October 7, 2023. Monday’s update stated that 57 people had died and 137 more were wounded in the last 24 hours alone.

Journalists in Gaza continue to bear the brunt of the violence. According to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, more than 200 journalists and media workers have been killed by Israeli forces since October 2023. Under international law, journalists are protected civilians who must not be targeted by warring parties.

Beyond the hospital strikes, at least 15 others were reported killed in various attacks across the Gaza Strip overnight. The Zeitoun district of Gaza City also came under fire, killing at least three people, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.

Israel has also maintained a full blockade on Gaza since early March, cutting off food, fuel, medicine, and humanitarian aid to over two million Palestinians the longest such siege of the conflict so far. Aid workers have warned of spiraling malnutrition and a looming humanitarian catastrophe.

The conflict, which began after Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023 killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251 has since devastated the Gaza Strip. The group still holds 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive. Israel has vowed to continue military operations until Hamas is dismantled and the remaining hostages are released.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with former U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday to discuss Gaza and regional developments. Netanyahu has expressed support for Trump’s controversial plan to relocate much of Gaza’s population to other countries — a proposal widely condemned by Palestinians and human rights groups as a potential violation of international law.