Investigations Launched After Israel Strikes Gaza Hospital, Killing Journalists and Health Workers

The international community is expressing outrage over repeated attacks on Gaza’s largest hospital in southern Gaza this week, resulting in at least 22 fatalities, including medical personnel, rescue workers, five journalists, and other civilians.

The first attack occurred at approximately 10 a.m. local time on Monday when the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis was struck by what appears to be a tank shell, killing Reuters cameraman Hussam Al-Masri among others. Nine minutes later, during efforts to tend to the initial victims and document the attack, another group of rescue workers and journalists were targeted as Israeli forces launched another assault on the hospital – a tactic known as a “double tap.”

Newly obtained footage by CNN reveals that this second attack involved not one but two near-simultaneous strikes, which caused the majority of the deaths.

Intentionally targeting civilian responders, journalists, and other non-combatants contravenes international humanitarian law and constitutes a war crime.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted on Monday that the incident was an unforeseen tragedy. However, the Israeli military defended the hospital assault the following day, claiming that six militants were killed during an attack targeting a camera allegedly positioned by Hamas. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) asserted that they are continuing to investigate “several gaps” in their understanding of the events. They insisted that the IDF does not intentionally target civilians.

The initial strike hit the exterior staircase of the Nasser Hospital, where Al-Masri was filming at approximately 10:08 a.m. local time in Gaza (3:08 a.m. ET). Following the first attack, rescue workers, civil defense personnel, and journalists rushed up to the fourth-floor site to assist the initial victims and document the incident.

One of these responders, Hatem Omar, was filming the recovery efforts from above as seen in this clip:

Simultaneously, Al Ghad TV was broadcasting live footage from below the hospital, with Omar visible in a red t-shirt filming the rescue workers:

Minutes later, at 10:17 a.m. local time (3:17 a.m. ET), the second and third strikes occurred. CNN typically does not publish footage showing people being killed; however, this clip demonstrates the immediate aftermath:

Omar, who was wounded during the attack, told CNN from his hospital gurney on Monday that “journalists, patients, nurses, and civil defense were on the stairs. We were directly targeted.”

A frame-by-frame analysis of another video obtained by CNN reveals that two more munitions were fired at the hospital. One shell hit the staircase where first responders had gathered; a fraction of a second later, another exploded at almost the same spot.

The two near-simultaneous shells visible in this new footage are likely to have originated from “multi-purpose” tank guns, such as the Israeli M339 model, according to an analysis by weapons specialist N.R. Jenzen-Jones, director of Armament Research Services. The damage caused by these strikes is consistent with this type of munition, displaying evidence of both blast and fragmentation damage.

“The impact of two projectiles at nearly the exact same moment suggests two tanks may have fired on the target simultaneously,” Jenzen-Jones told CNN. “It’s challenging to draw any definitive conclusions from that, but it implies a more coordinated attack rather than a single vehicle firing at a ‘target of opportunity.’ Modern tank guns, supported by the sensors and systems of modern tanks, are highly precise.”

When questioned about the third shell, the IDF declined further comment.

In graphic footage filmed after the second and third strikes, numerous bodies can be seen on the staircase on both the top floor and the floor below. Following the removal of victims from the hospital, photographs taken by an employee of the Gaza Ministry of Health show bloodstains on multiple floors within the stairwell.

The journalists killed in this attack were Reuters contractor Al-Masri, freelance visual journalists Mariam Abu Dagga and Moath Abu Taha (both associated with the Associated Press), freelance journalist Ahmed Abu Aziz, and Mohammad Salama, a cameraman for Al Jazeera in Gaza.

The fourth-floor balcony and staircase area of the Nasser Hospital was frequently utilized as a live camera position by Reuters, the Associated Press, and other international media outlets. This location was also known to be used by journalists searching for cell signal to upload their material. The attached photograph taken on June 12 depicts a group of journalists working from the balcony, including two of the victims, Mariam Abu Dagga and Moath Abu Taha.

Another photograph, captured approximately one month prior, shows Reuters cameraman Hussam Al-Masri filming from the same staircase where he was killed on Monday.

Video uploaded to Mariam Abu Dagga’s Instagram page in June demonstrates several journalists working from the same location.

Analysis by Trevor Ball, a former US Army senior explosive ordnance disposal team member, reveals that the projectiles hitting the hospital staircase were consistent with tank shells and originated from the northeast. The aftermath of these strikes is also consistent with fragmentation damage caused by tank shells such as the M339 model.

A satellite image taken by Planet Labs on August 22 shows over a dozen combat vehicles, including tanks, at an IDF base approximately 1.5 miles northeast of Nasser Hospital. Multiple other IDF bases are situated further northeast, along with in other directions; however, it is unclear whether the shells originated from these nearby tanks or another IDF position.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Doctors Without Borders (MSF), UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and numerous international organizations have condemned the strikes. Countries including Canada, the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait have also denounced the attack.

Nasser Hospital is the only medical facility still operating in southern Gaza, with hospitals in the region frequently targeted during periods of conflict. The repeated attacks on this hospital underscore the significant challenges faced by healthcare providers and patients in the Gaza Strip.