The five Gazan journalists killed by Israel in targeted drone strikes on Al Nasser hospital on 25 August died doing an almost unimaginable job: bearing witness to the death, destruction and starvation inflicted daily on their own families, friends, neighbours – and themselves.
 
Hussam al-Masri, Mariam Abu Dagga, Mohammed Salama, Moaz Abu Taha and Ahmad Abu Aziz were killed in “double-tap” drone strikes, the second of which killed journalists and emergency responders who had rushed to help those injured in the first.
 
In response to international outrage, Israel claimed that it does not target journalists “as such” and described the event as a “tragic mishap”.
 
However, more than 200 Gaza journalists have been killed since the beginning of the war, with many overtly targeted by the Israeli army.
 
INSI stands resolutely in solidarity with our colleagues in Gaza, with their families and newsrooms once again plunged into intolerable grief.
 
Hussam al-Masri

Hussam, a cameraman for Reuters, was killed in the first hit on al Nasser near a live broadcasting position operated by Reuters on an upper floor just below the roof of the hospital. He was broadcasting the view across Khan Younis when the Israeli strike hit.

According to an article about Hussam posted by Reuters, he would sometime say, "tomorrow will be better," even as conditions descended further into hunger and desperation in the months leading up to his death. That was how he ended his last conversation with Mohamed Salem, a senior visual journalist for Reuters.

Reuters editor in chief Alessandra Galloni said "Hussam was deeply devoted to telling the story of Gaza to the world. He was strong, steady and courageous in the most challenging of circumstances. His loss is deeply felt by all of those in this newsroom who worked with him."

Masri's wife, Samaher, has cancer and Hussam had been trying to get her out of Gaza for treatment. The couple had four children. Like so many journalists, their home had been destroyed and the family were living in a tent.

Despite the terrible conditions, Hussam remained committed to manning the Reuters feed broadcast daily from al Nasser, which provided a constant real-time display of Gaza and was used by Reuters media clients around the world.

In his final story he filmed families mourning over bodies of relatives, including children.

Mariam Abu Dagga
Mariam, a freelance photojournalist at the Associated Press, was described by a colleague as “always ready”. AP reporter Sarah El Deeb added: “Dagga stayed close to Nasser hospital and was able to see through the cruelty of the war with the skills and patience to report on its cost to the people of Gaza, its doctors, children and mothers.” 

Mariam was among the few women visual journalists covering the war in Gaza. According to the AP, she was forced to move multiple times but never stopped working. She won an internal AP award recognising the strongest work produced each week for her recent coverage of malnourished children in Gaza.

In an interview posted on Instagram, Mariam said, “Despite the danger and the tragic situation we are living in, we became more attached to the profession, loving it more. Our message is: enough wars. We want to live in peace. We want to live like journalists in the outside world.”

She is survived by a 13-year-old son who was able to leave Gaza at the start of the war.  

Mariam died in Israel’s second drone strike, as she ran to help Hussam al-Masri.
  
Moaz Abu Taha
Freelance photojournalist Moaz based himself near the hospital to follow the stories of injured and dying Palestinians. Moaz, who worked for Reuters and local media, had recently documented starving and injured children.
 
He died on the fourth floor of the hospital in the second “double-tap” strike. Several first responders were also killed. Targeting journalists and emergency workers is a war crime under international law.
 
Mohammed Salama
Mohammed was a photographer with Al Jazeera and Middle East Eye. On World Press Freedom Day, Mohammed posted on Instagram: “I write to you from Gaza. Here, journalism is not a profession — it is pain. We write amidst death, documenting the suffering so it is not forgotten. In every word, there is a soul fading, and a truth we refuse to let die.”
 
Ahmad Abu Aziz
Ahmad, Middle East Eye's Gaza correspondent, was wounded in the missile strikes and later died. Like so many Gaza journalists he had continued reporting despite his home being levelled, his family displaced and near starvation caused by Israel’s aid blockade. Ahmad once asked the MEE’s bureau chief, “If I am killed, what will you write about me?” He was, his colleague said, “exceptional”.