Reuters and The Associated Press issued a joint letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, demanding answers after five journalists were among the 20 people killed in an airstrike on a hospital in Gaza earlier that day.
Signed by Reuters editor-in-chief Alessandra Galloni and AP executive editor/SVP Julie Pace, the news agencies said they are “outraged” that Mariam Dagga, Moaz Abu Taha and Hussam al-Masri were among the dead. Mohammed Salam and Ahmed Abu Aziz were also killed in the attacks on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on the Gaza Strip.
In their letter, The AP and Reuters noted that it’s against international law for the Israel Defense Forces to target journalists and once again urged the country to allow media unimpeded access into the region. Furthermore, they questioned the response to the airstrikes, after the IDF told The AP it “regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and does not target journalists as such.”
“Israel deeply regrets the tragic mishap that occurred today at the Nasser Hospital in Gaza. Israel values the work of journalists, medical staff and all civilians. The military authorities are conducting a thorough investigation,” Netanyahu and his team said on Monday. “Our war is with Hamas terrorists. Our just goals are defeating Hamas and bringing our hostages home.”
The news agencies also noted that 197 journalists have reportedly been killed in the area — 189 of them Palestinian — since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Read the full joint letter, below:
Dear Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and Director of the Government Press Office Nitzan Chen:
We are writing to demand a clear explanation for the airstrikes that hit Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on Aug. 25, 2025, killing several journalists, including those working for the Associated Press and Reuters. Freelance visual journalists Mariam Dagga and Moaz Abu Taha had worked for AP and Reuters, respectively, as well other outlets during the war. Cameraman Hussam al-Masri was a contractor for Reuters. Photographer Hatem Khaled, who is also a contractor for Reuters, was wounded.
We are outraged that independent journalists were among the victims of this strike on the hospital, a location that is protected under international law. These journalists were present in their professional capacity, doing critical work bearing witness. Their work is especially vital in light of Israel’s nearly two-year ban on foreign journalists entering Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces has acknowledged conducting the strikes and says it is investigating. In a statement, the IDF said it “does not target journalists as such.” Unfortunately, we have found the IDF’s willingness and ability to investigate itself in past incidents to rarely result in clarity and action, raising serious questions including whether Israel is deliberately targeting live feeds in order to suppress information.
We hope this probe will be quick, thorough and provide clear answers. These deaths demand urgent and transparent accountability.
The IDF has a duty under international law to protect journalists and civilians and to take all feasible precautions to prevent harm. Striking a hospital, followed by a second strike while journalists and rescuers were responding, raises urgent questions about whether these obligations were upheld. In all, the Committee to Protect Journalists says 197 journalists and media workers have been killed in the region since Oct. 7, 2023, 189 of them Palestinian.
We are doing everything we can to keep our journalists in Gaza safe as they continue to deliver crucial eyewitness reporting under extremely dangerous conditions.
We once again urge Israeli authorities to allow independent journalists safe, unimpeded access into and out of Gaza, and to uphold their obligations to ensure press freedom and protection.
We are available to discuss this further and reiterate our call for a full and transparent accounting of what occurred.
