Global fury has erupted over a “double-tap” strike on southern Gaza’s main hospital that killed at least 20 people, including five journalists, that has been described by Benjamin Netanyahu as a “tragic mishap”. The Israeli military said it would investigate the attack on Nasser Hospital – a large medical complex in the southern town of Khan Yunis that has been targeted several times since the war began – adding that it “regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and does not target journalists”. Gaza’s Civil Defence spokesperson, Mahmud Bassal, said the building was first targeted by an Israeli explosive drone, followed by an air strike as the wounded were being evacuated. AFP footage from the immediate aftermath showed smoke filling the air and debris from the blast on the floor outside the hospital. Palestinians rushed to help the victims, carrying bloodied bodies and severed body parts into the medical complex. One body could be seen dangling from the top floor of the targeted building as a man screamed below. “Israel deeply regrets the tragic mishap that occurred today at the Nasser Hospital in Gaza,” Mr Netanyahu wrote on X. Get all the latest news happening around the world as it happens — download the news.com.au app direct to your phone. “Israel values the work of journalists, medical staff, and all civilians. The military authorities are conducting a thorough investigation. “Our war is with Hamas terrorists. Our just goals are defeating Hamas and bringing our hostages home.” The Israeli Prime Minister’s characterisation of the assault as an accident, however, was swiftly lambasted by world leaders, media publications and human rights organisations United Nations rights office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said in a statement that journalists and hospitals should never be targeted. “The killing of journalists in Gaza should shock the world – not into stunned silence but into action, demanding accountability and justice,” Ms Shamdasani said. While the head of the UN’s agency for Palestinian Affairs, UNRWA’s Philippe Lazzarini, described the strike as “silencing the last remaining voices reporting about children dying silently amid famine”. The ongoing war in Gaza has been one of the deadliest for journalists – with around 200 media workers killed over the course of the nearly two-year Israeli assault sparked by Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 – according to media watchdogs. Israel prevents international reporters from entering Gaza, except on occasional tightly-controlled trips with the military. Mariam Dagga, a freelancer for Associated Press and other news outlets; Reuters cameraman Hussam al-Masri and photographer Hatem Khaled; Al-Jazeera cameraman Mohammed Salama and NBC reporter Moaz Abu Tahu were the five journalists killed on Monday. Reuters reported that al-Masri was operating a live feed at the hospital “which suddenly shut down at the moment of the initial strike”. Responding to Mr Netanyahu’s statement on X, British broadcaster Piers Morgan wrote: “It wasn’t a ‘mishap’. It was a deliberate ‘double strike’ mass killing of hospital workers, journalists, and other civilians.” Questioned by journalists at the White House, US President Donald Trump said he had not yet received news of the strike but added: “I’m not happy about it. I don’t want to see it.” He said, “at the same time, we have to end that whole nightmare” in Gaza, where militant group Hamas is holding hostages seized in Israel. In Israeli’s staunch European ally Germany, the foreign ministry said it was “shocked by the killing of several journalists, rescue workers, and other civilians”. “This attack must be investigated,” the ministry said on X, also calling on Israel to “allow immediate independent foreign media access and afford protection for journalists operating in Gaza”. UK Foreign Minister David Lammy, meanwhile, said he was “horrified” by the assault. “Civilians, healthcare workers and journalists must be protected,” Mr Lammy said. “We need an immediate ceasefire.” In Qatar, which has been trying to mediate a halt to the fighting in Gaza, the foreign ministry condemned the strike as “a new episode in the ongoing series of heinous crimes” by Israel. “The occupation’s approach of targeting journalists and relief and medical workers requires urgent and decisive international action to provide the necessary protection for civilians and ensure that the perpetrators of these atrocities do not escape punishment,” it said in a statement.