ISTANBUL 

The World Health Organization chief on Monday urged Israel to stop attacks on health care and called for an immediate ceasefire following strikes on Nasser Medical Complex in the Gaza Strip.

"While people in Gaza are being starved, their already limited access to health care is being further crippled by repeated attacks. We cannot say it loudly enough: STOP attacks on health care. Ceasefire now!" Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on US social media company X.

The statement came after 20 Palestinians, including five journalists and a firefighter, were killed and several others wounded Monday in an Israeli strike on the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip.

"Fifty others were injured, among them critically ill patients who were already receiving care. The hospital’s main building, which houses the emergency department, inpatient ward, and surgical unit, was hit. The strike damaged the emergency staircase," Ghebreyesus also explained.

The Gaza Health Ministry said the Israeli army hit the fourth floor of one of the complex’s buildings with two airstrikes, noting that the second strike occurred as rescue teams arrived to evacuate the wounded and recover the dead.

Official Palestine TV reported that among the deceased was its cameraman Hussam al-Masri, while Qatari channel Al Jazeera confirmed that its photographer Mohammad Salama was also killed.

A medical source also confirmed the death of photojournalist Mariam Abu Dagga. Photojournalist Moaz Abu Taha was also killed in the Israeli strike targeting the hospital.

Medical sources also confirmed to Anadolu that Ahmed Abu Aziz, a freelance reporter with Tunisian and Moroccan news sites, died of injuries he sustained in the Israeli strike.