Days after the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem expressed hope that “hearts can change even in the Holy Land,” at least 20 people, including five journalists, have been reported killed in Israeli strikes on Nasser Hospital, located in southern Gaza.

BBC News has verified several videos of the August 25 attack, showing two strikes on the facility.

In a livestream video by Al Ghad TV, emergency workers are seen responding to an initial blast aimed at the building’s top floor. Journalists are among those gathered to record the rescue efforts, with several individuals positioned on a staircase, where a second strike took place. BBC News reported that “at least one body is visible in the aftermath.”

Among those killed in the strikes were Reuters cameraman Hussam al-Masri; freelance journalist Mariam Dagga, who had worked with The Associated Press; Mohammed Salama of Al Jazeera and Middle East Eye; freelance journalist Ahmad Abu Aziz, who worked with Middle East Eye; and Moas Abu Taha, whose media affiliations are still being confirmed.

Their deaths follow those of six other journalists who died in an August 10 strike on Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

Israel defends strike as inquiry ordered

In an August 25 statement, Israel Defense Forces confirmed the latest strike, noting that it “regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and does not target journalists as such.”

IDF said its chief of general staff “instructed to conduct an initial inquiry as soon as possible,” and stressed that “the IDF acts to mitigate harm to uninvolved individuals as much as possible while maintaining the safety of IDF troops.”

The latest strikes have drawn international condemnation, with World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posting on X that the blast hit critical areas in the hospital, including its emergency department, inpatient ward, surgical unit, and emergency staircase.

Ghebreyesus said that the injured included “critically ill patients who were already receiving care.”

“While people in Gaza are being starved, their already limited access to health care is being further crippled by repeated attacks,” said Ghebreyesus, adding, “Stop the attacks on health care. Ceasefire now.”

Global prayer day precedes violence

The strike comes just three days after the global day of prayer and fasting for peace called by Pope Leo XIV on August 22, the feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, amid a surge in global conflict, particularly in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Speaking to Vatican News ahead of the observance, Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa said he was “grateful for this attention to the theme of peace.”

He added, “It is the only thing that at this moment we can do: to pray and to fast, to keep our attention directed toward God. It is the only thing we can do right now so that the hearts of men may change.”

At the same time, he said, prayer is not “a magic formula that solves problems,” but rather a means of transforming hearts to reject violence and hatred, and embrace fraternity, mutual respect, and goodness.

“Prayer also serves to create this bond with people of all faiths who, despite everything, still want to believe that the heart of man, even in the Holy Land, can change,” the cardinal told Vatican News, adding that the day of prayer would confirm “Christ is not absent from Gaza.”

War’s toll continues to mount

The Israel-Hamas war, sparked by the latter’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, has seen more than 62,000 Palestinians killed, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. Some 1,200 Israelis have been killed and more than 5,400 injured. Of the 251 Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, 50 remain in captivity, with only 20 of them believed to still be alive, with 83 of the hostages confirmed killed to date. More than 100 were released later in 2023; eight were rescued by Israeli forces.

Along with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, a famine has been formally declared by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, a global food security metric used by a consortium of hunger relief agencies.

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Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X.