Among the fatalities is a photojournalist who, among other things, has been hired by the American news agency AP, reports the Israeli Haaretz. The photographer Hassan Eslaiah was injured in an Israeli air strike in April – for which he is said to have been the target – and was therefore hospitalized at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis during the night's attack.
Eslaiah was one of several who documented the terrorist attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, which became the starting point for the war in Gaza. He has admitted to traveling in the same car as Hamas terrorists, but asserts that he had no connections to the extremist movement and only acted as a journalist.
After the October 7 attack, AP and CNN cut ties with Eslaiah following criticism from a pro-Israeli media watchdog, which, among other things, found previously taken pictures that allegedly show the photographer with the now deceased Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
The Israeli military confirms the attack in Khan Yunis, which it claims targeted a "command center" located in the hospital – a frequently repeated Israeli accusation.
Israel paused its military operations in Gaza for a short time on Monday to enable the release of Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old American-Israeli soldier who had been held hostage since the October 7 attack.
Alexander was freed after direct negotiations between the US and Hamas, ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit to the Middle East, which begins today.
