Palestinian journalists killed in Israeli strike on Gaza hospital

Three Palestinian journalists were killed on Thursday in a deadly Israeli strike in Gaza City, a medical source told Anadolu.

The source identified the victims as Sulaiman Hajjaj, Ismail Badah and Samir Al-Rifa'i.

The source said the journalists lost their lives when an Israeli drone struck the grounds of the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City.

Several other journalists were injured in the attack.

Gaza's government media office said that the new fatalities brought the number of journalists who died in Israeli attacks in Gaza since October 2023 to 225 after an injured reporter died of the wounds he sustained on May 31.

It appealed to international press groups "to condemn these systematic crimes against Palestinian journalists in Gaza."

Israel, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a genocidal offensive in Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 54,700 Palestinians, most of them women and children. Aid agencies have warned about the risk of famine among the enclave's more than 2 million inhabitants.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war crimes against civilians in the enclave.