Israel vows more info soon on deadly hospital strike

Nasser hospital photographed before second Israeli strike
Five journalists were among the dead when Israeli strikes hit Nasser hospital in Khan Younis. -AP

Israel's United Nations ambassador Danny Danon says there will be more information in the next few days on a strike on Nasser hospital in the Gaza Strip's south on Monday that killed at least 20 people including five journalists.

"We're still looking into the details of that incident and so that in the next few days we will have more information about that," Danon told reporters.

"Our goal is to fight terrorists, not journalists, not anyone who is not involved in terrorism," he said. 

Journalists who worked for Reuters, the Associated Press, al-Jazeera and other outlets were among the dead. 

Israel's military has concluded six Hamas members were killed in the strike on Nasser hospital in Khan Younis on Monday, acting US ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea told the Security Council.

She said that "the IDF struck the site Hamas was using to monitor troops at the hospital," using an acronym for Israel's military.

"We note the prompt nature of this investigation and response and call on this council to condemn the continued use of civilian infrastructure by Hamas," she said.

None of the five journalists were among the six alleged Palestinian militant targets that the Israeli military named in a written statement, released on Tuesday. 

The statement included photos of six individuals who were killed, including alleged members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

All United Nations Security Council members, except for the United States, on Wednesday said the famine in the Gaza Strip was a "manmade crisis" and warned that the use of starvation as a weapon of war is banned under international humanitarian law.

In a joint statement, the 14 council members called for an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire, the release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups, a substantive surge of aid throughout the Gaza Strip and for Israel to immediately and unconditionally lift all restrictions on aid delivery.

In Washington DC, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was set to meet on Wednesday with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar to discuss a post-war Gaza Strip.

US envoy Steve Witkoff told Fox News on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump would chair a separate meeting which would feature "a very comprehensive plan" to end the conflict in the enclave.

He did not offer details about that meeting, which did not appear on Trump's public schedule for Wednesday.

Witkoff also said the official US position was that hostages - Hamas' main source of leverage - should no longer be part of negotiations.

He told Fox News the talks should instead focus on issues such as the Gaza Strip's future and how to define Hamas in that context.

with AP