At least 19 people, including five journalists, were killed in an Israeli attack on the Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza on Monday.

According to Palestinian sources, the hospital said the victims were hit by an airstrike while on the fourth floor of the facility in Khan Younis.

The Palestinian local media reported that emergency workers were also among the dead.

According to the Associated Press (AP), a freelance contributor for AP, Mariam Dagga, is among those killed.

Reuters also reported that one of its freelance contributors was killed, and another photographer working for the agency, also a freelancer, was injured.

The Arabic broadcaster Al Jazeera said one of its cameramen was among the journalists killed.

It was initially unclear which outlet the fourth journalist killed worked for.

According to sources from Gaza, the fifth journalist is a freelance contributor for several Arab media outlets.

Witnesses said a second attack followed after paramedics and civil defence workers had already rushed to the scene, and video footage of the bloody incident circulated on social media.

The broadcaster al-Ghad published a video showing a group of people being hit, reportedly during the second attack.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military, in a statement, confirmed that troops had carried out a strike in the area of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis and that an inquiry into the incident had been ordered.

”The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and does not target journalists as such.

”The IDF acts to mitigate harm to uninvolved individuals as much as possible while maintaining the safety of troops,” it said. 

(dpa/NAN)