The Nasser Hospital Attack killed 22 people, including journalists and medics, after Israeli forces struck the hospital four times [Image by AP News]
(The Post News) – The August 25 attack on the Nasser Hospital in Gaza’s south has provoked international outrage following Israeli soldier attacks on the hospital at least four times, and the death of 22 people, including five journalists, doctors, and ambulance workers.Â
BBC Verify and Sky News investigations show that the hospital was attacked not twice, as initially stated, but four separate times as part of a series of assaults potentially constituting a breach of international law.
An Israeli shell struck the hospital’s eastern staircase at 10:08 a.m. local time, killing Reuters TV cameraman Hossam Al-Masri, who was live reporting on the balcony. His broadcast cut off abruptly as the impact occurred.
At much the same moment, a further missile hit a northern staircase, an attack overshadowed by what appeared to be a “double-tap” on the east. New footage shows smoke coming from both staircases, and hospital staff reported that the operating department was hit.
Nine minutes later, two more projectiles struck the same stairwell a millisecond apart as reporters and emergency responders scrambled to find survivors. The attack killed further reporters and emergency responders, including reporters Ahmed Abu Aziz, Mariam Abu Daqqa, Mohammed Salama, and Moaz Abu Taha.
Videos captured the scenes of chaos in which smoke billowed through the stairwell, bodies littered the area, and scared survivors scrambled for their lives.
Nasser Hospital Attack Involved Tank Missiles
Arms analysts told the BBC that the close timing between the strikes suggests precision-guided tank rounds, possibly Lahat missiles, had been used. It would take a minimum of two Israeli tanks firing in such close proximity.
Satellite imagery confirmed Israeli armored forces deployed within 2.5 kilometers of Nasser Hospital on the day of attack.
The Israeli military initially admitted firing “close to the hospital” and referenced “regret” for civilians killed, later calling it a “tragic accident.” On Tuesday, the IDF reported it was targeting a Hamas surveillance camera.
However, investigations revealed the destroyed camera was part of a Reuters live transmission operated by Al-Masri. The authorities in the hospital insist there were no other cameras there, and news agencies confirmed the balcony had been used for years by foreign journalists.
Hamas described Israel’s claims as “baseless.” Sky News further reported that of the six “terrorists” that Israel had identified, one was killed in a separate raid elsewhere in Gaza and not in the Nasser Hospital assault.
The second attack has been denounced as a “premeditated attack on medics and journalists” by Palestinian UN representative Riyad Mansour.
Legal scholars, including Oxford University Professor Janina Dill, argued that hospitals remain protected by international law except in the case of direct use for belligerent purposes and even so with prior notice. Notice was not given.
“This is one of the most deadly Israeli attacks on foreign media workers since the Gaza conflict began,” the Foreign Press Association said, adding that the strikes were executed “without warning.”
Nasser Hospital Attack Highlights Broader Gaza Toll
The Nasser Hospital attack was part of a wider Israeli Gaza offensive in retaliation for the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that resulted in the death of about 1,200 people and left more than 250 hostages.
Since the conflict began, nearly 63,000 Palestinians have been reported dead by Gaza’s health ministry. At least 247 media workers and 536 humanitarian workers were killed, making it Gaza’s deadliest conflict on record for both jobs, says the United Nations.
Human rights groups claim that the “double-tap” tactic striking once, then a second time when rescue missions arrive is a recurring aspect of Israel’s bombardments of Gaza. Monitoring group Airwars has documented at least 24 such incidents during the war.
Former US Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Stephen Rapp said the case of the bombing of the Nasser Hospital warrants an independent investigation into possible war crimes.
When the smoke had cleared at Nasser Hospital, journalists and dead medics were evacuated by medics. “While the international community demands a ceasefire, Israel continues its atrocities,” Mansour told the UN Security Council. “Where else is it okay to massacre so many journalists and civilians?”
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