India, Aug. 25 -- Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country's twin airstrikes on a hospital in Gaza that killed 20 people, including five journalists, was a "tragic mishap" and that the military was now investigating it.

He was reacting to outrage after Israel struck one of the main hospitals in the Gaza Strip early Monday and then hit the facility again as journalists and rescue workers rushed to the scene, killing at least 20 people and wounding scores more, local health workers told AP.

In his statement later on Monday, Netanyahu said Israel "values the work of journalists, medical staff and all civilians".

This was among the deadliest of Israeli strikes that have hit hospitals and journalists over the 22-month...