GAZA CITY, Palestine - Five staff members of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip were killed on Thursday due to Israeli attacks on the hospital, reported Xinhua, citing the Palestinian official news agency WAFA.

The victims included a pediatrician, a laboratory specialist, two paramedics, and a maintenance specialist.

The Israeli army continued its tight siege of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the town of Beit Lahia, where 91 patients remain. The Israeli army has not commented on the incident.

Five Journalists Killed in Israeli Airstrike

In a separate incident, five Palestinian journalists were killed on Thursday after an Israeli airstrike targeted their vehicle in the al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

"At least five Palestinian journalists were killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a vehicle of the Al-Quds Today satellite channel stationed in front of Al-Awda Hospital in the al-Nuseirat camp," Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for Civil Defense in Gaza, told Xinhua.

An eyewitness, Ibrahim Eid, described hearing a missile fired from an Israeli plane followed by a massive explosion. "We tried to put out the fire and retrieve the five victims, but some of them were mutilated," he added.

Hamas Condemns Attack, Israel Claims "Precise Strike"

The Hamas-run Gaza government media office condemned the Israeli attack, accusing Israel of deliberately targeting the journalists to hide its "crimes."

The Israel Defense Forces, however, claimed that the airstrike was a "precise strike" on an Islamic Jihad "terrorist cell" inside a vehicle in the al-Nuseirat area.

The IDF statement asserted that intelligence from multiple sources confirmed that these militants were posing as journalists.

Escalating Violence in Gaza

These incidents come amid a large-scale Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for a Hamas attack on the southern Israeli border on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people and the abduction of about 250.

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza has risen to 45,399, according to a statement released by Gaza-based health authorities on Thursday.