The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly condemns the double compounded crime committed by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) in bombing the Naser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, which killed at least 20 people, including five journalists, a doctor, and a civil defense worker, and left many others wounded. The attack began with the targeting of the Emergency and Reception Building in the largest hospital in the southern Gaza Strip, followed by another strike on journalists covering the incident and on civil defense crews attempting to rescue the casualties. This reflects a repeated pattern by the IOF to maximize casualties and obstruct rescue operations. Such actions represent the essence of the ongoing genocide that Israel has been perpetrating against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip across all categories for more than two years.
According to eyewitness testimonies and information collected by PCHR staff, at approximately 10:10 on Monday, 25 August 2025, an Israeli drone struck the stairwell on the fourth floor of the Emergency Building in Naser Medical Complex, where journalist Mustafa ‘Attiyah al-Masri (49), a Reuters photographer, was present there as usual as the location is considered a high vantage point. As a result, al-Masri was killed, and others were wounded. Immediately after the attack, journalists and civil defense teams, clearly wearing their press and rescue vests, rushed to the scene. Moments later, IOF directly targeted them with a shell as they gathered, raising the death toll to 20, according to the Ministry of Health. Among the victims were five journalists, an intern doctor, a civil defense worker, and other civilians. In addition to Mustafa al-Masri, the journalists killed were identified as: Mariam Riyadh Mohammed Abu Farhanah (33), also known as Abu Daqqah, who worked with Independent Arabia and the Associated Press (AP); Mohammed Saber Ibrahim Salamah, an Al Jazeera photographer; Mo’az Mohammed Abu Taha, a freelancer; and Hamad Salamah Soliman Abu ‘Aziz (28), also a freelancer. The doctor was identified as Mohammed Mahmoud Isma’il al-Habibi (24), while the civil defense worker was identified as ‘Emad ‘Abdel Hakeem ‘Ali al-Sha’
In his testimony to PCHR staff, journalist Ibrahim Mohammed Khalil Qannan said:
” I was standing in front of the eastern gate of Naser Medical Complex, preparing to go live on al-Ghad TV, when I suddenly heard a deafening explosion caused by a drone strike that targeted my colleague, Hussam al-Masri, a photographer for Reuters. Al-Masri had been photographing from the stairwell on the fourth floor of the Reception Department Building (the Emergency Building), a location well known as a vantage point from which journalists usually document and cover events. As a result of the strike, journalists, civil defense teams, doctors, and nurses rushed to the scene to rescue the injured and evacuate the dead. I was already live on air reporting the incident at that time. Just a few minutes later, an Israeli drone directly struck the rescuers and journalists, in what was clearly an act of execution, killing five journalists- including one who later succumbed to his wounds- along with a civil defense member and others.”
Yamen ‘Abdel Qader Saleh Abu Soliman from civil defense said to PCHR staff:
“An Israeli drone targeted the stairwell on the fourth floor of the Emergency Building at Naser Medical Complex, near our headquarters. Indeed, our teams rushed to the scene, immediately beginning evacuation operations for the injured and the dead. However, while carrying out their duties, an Israeli drone struck them again, killing and wounding many of our members. Our civil defense driver, ‘Emad ‘Abdel Hakeem al-Sha’er (35), was killed, and six others were wounded. In addition, five journalists were killed along with other civilians.”
PCHR emphasizes that the IOF’s claim of targeting only the vicinity of the hospital1 is entirely false, as the bombardment directly struck the upper part of the Reception Building inside the hospital and was renewed directly against journalists and rescue teams themselves. This unequivocally demonstrates a deliberate intent to target and kill.
A video 2 circulated on social media at the time of the hospital bombing documented the second attack. It showed a group of people, including civil defense teams and journalists, searching for victims and documenting the incident when they were directly targeted by a shell, resulting in multiple deaths and injuries.
This crime is a stark example of the repeated pattern of compounded crimes with multiple elements. The bombardment deliberately targeted a medical facility protected under international law, killed an intern doctor while on duty, assassinated journalists in the course of their professional work, attacked patients during evacuation and treatment, and killed and injured civil defense personnel while engaged in rescue operations. This pattern reflects a deliberate policy of targeting individuals and objects under special protection, and it constitutes fully-fledged war crimes and crimes against humanity within the broader framework of the ongoing genocide against the people of the Gaza Strip.
It is worth noting that the Israeli forces have killed more than 1,591 medical personnel, 123 civil defense members, and 245 journalists in less than 23 months of their ongoing military offensive on the Gaza Strip.
PCHR asserts that the targeting of journalists intends to isolate the victim and prevent the documentation of Israel’s genocidal acts against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip. Thus, PCHR calls on the international community to openly condemn the targeting of journalists, to exert pressure on Israel, the occupying power, to immediately stop these attacks, and to urgently provide international protection for civilians, including journalists, in the Gaza Strip.
PCHR emphasizes that the deliberate and systematic killing of journalists, medics and rescue teams is part of the ongoing crime of genocide in Gaza and constitutes a war crime under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to Article 8 of the ICC’s Rome Statute. It also constitutes arbitrary deprivation of life under Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the perpetrators must be held accountable.
PCHR stresses that the continued failure of the international justice system to hold Israeli leaders accountable for their crimes has emboldened them to persist in committing further violations and crimes against journalists and their families, carried out in complete impunity.
In light of the above, PCHR calls on the international community to pressure Israel to immediately stop targeting journalists and to take immediate action to provide international protection for civilians, including journalists, in the Gaza Strip. PCHR also urges the international community to exert pressure on Israel to stop its crimes and comply with the rules of international law.