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Gaza hospital strike that killed 20 'a tragic mishap': Israel PM Netanyahu
Netanyahu says Israel “values the work of journalists, medical staff and all civilians”; military is investigating the strike
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country's twin airstrikes on a hospital in Gaza that killed 20 people, including five journalists, was a “tragic mishap" and that the military was now investigating it.
He was reacting to outrage after Israel struck one of the main hospitals in the Gaza Strip early Monday and then hit the facility again as journalists and rescue workers rushed to the scene, killing at least 20 people and wounding scores more, local health workers told AP.
In his statement later on Monday, Netanyahu said Israel “values the work of journalists, medical staff and all civilians”.
This was among the deadliest of Israeli strikes that have hit hospitals and journalists over the 22-month war that began after Palestinian militant group Hamas struck Israel in October 2023.
This attack comes also as Israel plans to widen its offensive to heavily populated areas, and build more settlements as part of “finishing the job” as it calls it.
The first strike at Nasser Hospital hit a top floor; minutes later, a second missile hit.
Brigadier General Effie Defrin, an Israeli military spokesman, said the army “does not target civilians” and had launched an internal investigation into the strikes.
He again accused Hamas of hiding among civilians but did not say whether Israel believed any militants were present during the strikes on the hospital.
“We regret any harm to uninvolved individuals,” he said.
The UN secretary-general, Britain, France and others condemned the attack. US President Donald Trump initially said he was not aware of it before offering: “I’m not happy about it. I don’t want to see it.”
