WASHINGTON/GAZA CITY: United States President Donald Trump on Monday said he was “not happy” about an Israeli strike on Gaza’s Nasser hospital that killed at least 20 people, including five journalists, according to Palestinian officials.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said he had not been previously aware of the incident but expressed concern.
“Well, I’m not happy about it. I don’t want to see it. At the same time, we have to end that whole nightmare,” Trump told journalists.
The Gaza Health Ministry said Israeli warplanes targeted the fourth floor of one of the hospital’s buildings with two strikes, the second hitting as rescuers attempted to evacuate the wounded and recover bodies.
The health ministry stated that the dead included patients, health workers, civil defence personnel and members of the press.
Among those killed were Palestine TV cameraman Hussam al-Masri, Al Jazeera photographer Mohammad Salama, photojournalists Mariam Abu Dagga and Moaz Abu Taha, and freelance reporter Ahmed Abu Aziz, who contributed to Tunisian and Moroccan outlets.
Israel’s military acknowledged striking the area of Nasser hospital, saying the chief of staff had ordered an inquiry. It said it “regrets harm to uninvolved individuals” and denied targeting journalists.
The Foreign Press Association in Israel said it was “outraged and in shock,” calling the incident one of the deadliest assaults on international media since the conflict began in October 2023.
It urged world leaders to act, saying: “Too many journalists in Gaza have been killed by Israel without justification. This must be a watershed moment.”
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the strike, accusing Israel of “deliberately targeting” five Palestinian journalists and calling for an emergency UN Security Council meeting.
RSF Director General Thibaut Bruttin asked: “How long will [the Israeli army] continue to defy international humanitarian law?”
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also condemned the attack, noting that nearly 200 journalists and media workers, most of them Palestinian, have been killed since the war began.
Global outrage
The strike drew strong international condemnation. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he was “horrified” and repeated calls for an immediate ceasefire.
French President Emmanuel Macron described the attack as “intolerable” and stressed that civilians and journalists must be protected under all circumstances.
Germany’s foreign ministry said it was “shocked” and demanded an investigation, while Qatar called the bombing “a new episode in the ongoing series of heinous crimes”.
The United Nations described the attack as “absolutely horrifying.” Olga Cherevko, spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said the images were “unconscionable” and highlighted repeated mass-casualty incidents in Gaza’s health facilities.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said it was “heartbroken” by the killing of Mariam Abu Dagga, a freelance photographer who had previously worked with the organisation.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, the strike further crippled one of the last partially functioning hospitals in the territory.
Nasser Hospital has been struggling to cope with thousands of patients amid acute shortages of medicine, electricity and supplies.
Since Israel launched the ongoing military offensive in October 2023, more than 62,800 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed, according to the territory’s health ministry.
