Live: Six more Palestinians die of famine as Israel blocks Gaza aid

African Journalists Against Genocide (AJAG), a newly-formed group of 150 African journalists, said on Monday that it is "furious" at what it suggested is impunity shown by Israeli forces in Gaza, after the double-bombing of Nasser Hospital killed five prominent journalists. 

AJAG said it is "outraged and strongly denounces Israel’s continued targeting of Palestinian journalists in Gaza, acting with complete impunity in disregard for international law".

"Today journalists were killed live on air... As journalists who work hard to expose these atrocities, we are furious at the unabated violence our colleagues in Palestine are enduring," the statement said.

"Israel has murdered at least 274 journalists since October 2023. Journalism is not a crime. Killing journalists is THE crime". 

On Friday, the United Nations-backed global hunger monitor said that more than half a million people were now trapped in famine in Gaza City and its surrounding towns.

Despite warning about increasing levels of starvation following Israel's campaign of denying aid, food and basic essentials into the besieged territory, it was the first time the Integrated Food Phase Classification (IPC) declared famine.

The IPC, a global initiative aimed at enhancing food security and nutrition analysis to inform decisions, said that according to data, 30 percent of households in Gaza City and its surrounding areas were at a "catastrophic level", while 50 percent were at "emergency levels".

Within six weeks, the number of those trapped in famine is expected to rise to close to 650,000 - or 33 percent of all of Gaza.

"Any further delay - even by days - will result in a totally unacceptable escalation of famine-related mortality," the IPC said.

Read more: Genocide in Gaza: What does it mean to be trapped in famine?

At an extraordinary meeting on Monday to discuss Israel's Gaza genocide in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), outlined no specific diplomatic, economic, or military action beyond issuing a statement condemning Israel for its actions over the past 22 months.

"We are called upon to redouble our efforts on various fronts in the face of Israel's continued crimes, including military aggression, genocide, ethnic cleansing, forced displacement, systematic destruction, the illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip, starvation or deprivation of food as a weapon of war, settlement and annexation policies, and attacks on holy sites, particularly al-Quds al-Sharif. We hold Israel, the occupying force, solely responsible for these crimes," the statement posted to X reads.

"We condemn [Israel's] announcement of its intention to impose total military control over the Gaza Strip and its Prime Minister's statements regarding what he calls the "vision of Greater Israel," as well as "the approval of settlement construction in the E1 zone of the occupied city of al-Quds and the killing of journalists in the Gaza Strip, which requires prosecution in accordance with international criminal law," the OIC said.

"The international community is called upon to take concrete steps to break the blockade and allow the delivery of humanitarian aid" via the United Nations and specifically the relief agency Unrwa, the statement added.

"We call for continued efforts to achieve a ceasefire, ensure the return of displaced persons, the withdrawal of occupying forces, and the holding of the reconstruction conference in Cairo," and "urge other countries to... support Palestine's full membership in the UN," the OIC statement concluded. 

Journalists around the world expressed outrage on Monday as Israel continued its assault on reporters in Gaza, and condemned what they called the media industry’s “failure” to take action.

Israeli forces on Monday killed Middle East Eye journalists Mohamed Salama and Ahmed Abu Aziz in a double-tap strike on Nasser hospital in the southern Gaza Strip.

At least three other journalists were among the 19 Palestinians killed in the attack, including Mariam Dagga, a freelance reporter who worked with several media outlets such as the Associated Press; Hussam al-Masri, a photojournalist with the Reuters news agency; and freelance reporter Moaz Abu Taha.

A sixth journalist, Hassan Douhan, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in Khan Younis, according to the Gaza media office.

Read more: 'Death of journalism': Outrage after Israel kills more journalists in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday called the Israeli double-bombing of Nasser hospital in Gaza a "tragic mishap" and that Israel "regrets" its action.

Five journalists were killed among 21 victims overall, with several others severely wounded.

"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 wrote on X. 

"Our war is with Hamas terrorists. Our just goals are defeating Hamas and bringing our hostages home," he said. 

Earlier, Israeli military spokesperson BG Effie Defrin said in a video statement that "the IDF does not intentionally target civilians. Hamas began this war, and created impossible conditions". 

A sixth journalist is now confirmed killed by Israel on Monday.

Prominent investigative journalist Hassan Douhan was the editor-in-chief of Gaza's al-Hayat al-Jadida, and trained many rising journalists in the enclave. 

He was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in Khan Younis, according to the Gaza media office.

In addition to the five journalists killed earlier in the day in the bombing of Nasser Hospital, the total number of Palestinian journalists killed since 7 October 2023 now stands at 246. 

Qatar on Monday condemned Israel's double-bombing of Nasser Hospital in Gaza, calling it a "new episode in the ongoing series of heinous crimes committed by the occupation against the brotherly Palestinian people and a blatant violation of international law".

"The occupation's approach in targeting journalists and workers in the humanitarian and medical fields necessitates urgent and decisive international action to provide the necessary protection for civilians and ensure that the perpetrators of these atrocities do not escape accountability," the foreign ministry said in a post on X.

Qatar further called "for global solidarity to end the brutal genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, address the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the enclave, and move forward toward achieving a just and sustainable peace that guarantees the establishment of an independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital". 

The German Foreign Office on Monday said it is "shocked" by Israel's killing of five journalists at Gaza's Nasser Hospital, and is calling for an investigation.

"Journalists and media workers play an essential role in putting the spotlight on the devastating reality of war. We have repeatedly called on the Israeli government to allow immediate independent foreign media access and afford protection for journalists operating in Gaza," the message on X said.

"We are shocked by the killing of several journalists, rescue workers, and other civilians in an Israeli airstrike on the Nasser Hospital in Gaza. This attack must be investigated". 

At least 54 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza since dawn, Al Jazeera is reporting, citing medical sources.

Of that figure, 21 Palestinians, including five journalists, were killed in an Israeli attack on southern Gaza's Nasser Hospital.

The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement condemning Israel's attack on Nasser Hospital, denouncing it as a "flagrant and unacceptable violation of  international humanitarian law".

“We reiterate that specially protected sites cannot be targeted," the ministry said.

US President Donald Trump on Monday said that he is "not happy" about the Israeli attack on Nasser Hospital that killed 20 Palestinians, including five journalists.

"I'm not happy about it. I don't want to see it. At the same time, we have to end that... nightmare," Trump told reporters at the White house.

Reporting by Reuters

Ahmed Abu Aziz was the journalist who never stopped.

Working through pain, displacement, hunger and bombardment, the 28-year-old relentlessly reported from southern Gaza for Middle East Eye throughout Israel’s genocide.

On Monday, Israel killed him alongside four other journalists and a rescue worker as they attended the scene of the latest Israeli attack on a Gaza hospital.

Reporting during the deadliest war for journalists in history, Abu Aziz knew all too well the risks he took telling the truth about Israel’s onslaught.

Since October 2023, Israel has killed 245 Palestinian journalists in Gaza, several of them his friends and colleagues. Mohamed Salama, another MEE contributor, was also killed in the strike on Khan Younis’ Nasser hospital.

Read more: Ahmed Abu Aziz: MEE's Gaza correspondent who reported through pain and loss

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has condemned the international community's failure to hold Israel accountable for its "continued unlawful attacks on the press”.

"The world watches and fails to act firmly on the most horrific attacks the press has ever faced in recent history", said CPJ’s Regional Director Sara Qudah.

“These murders must end now. The perpetrators must no longer be allowed to act with impunity,” Qudah added.

The UN rights office has condemned the Israeli attack on Nasser Hospital, which killed at least 20 Palestinians, including five journalists.

The office spokesperson, Ravina Shamdasani, said that the killing of Gaza's journalists "should shock the world - not into stunned silence but into action, demanding accountability and justice." 

"Journalists are not a target. Hospitals are not a target", she added.

The Israeli attack on Khan Younis's Nasser Medical Complex injured over 50 people, including "critically ill patients who were already receiving care", WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus has said.

The attack on Monday struck the facility's main building where the emergency department, inpatient ward and surgical unit are located, killing at least 20 people, including five journalists.

"While people in #Gaza are being starved, their already limited access to health care is being further crippled by repeated attacks",  Ghebreyesus said in a post on X.

"We cannot say it loudly enough: STOP attacks on health care. Ceasefire now!

.@WHO received reports of two strikes on the Nasser Medical Complex this morning, resulting in the deaths of at least 20 people, including four health workers and five journalists. Fifty others were injured, among them critically ill patients who were already receiving care.

The… pic.twitter.com/XzTM4u0pAt

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) August 25, 2025