IDF Strikes Nasser Hospital in Gaza
Aug. 27—An Israeli strike hit the fourth floor of the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis Aug. 25, killing more thanf 20 people. At least 4 journalists are among the dead, including freelancers for AP, AL Jazeera and Reuters. Mariam Dagga, the AP journalist, most recently reported on the hospital’s doctors struggling to save children from starvation, AP said.
According to Palestinian sources the attack was of the double-tap variety, that is, a second missile followed the first after rescuers arrived on the scene. Gaza Civil Defense reported that seven of its workers and one firefighter were killed by the second missile.
The IDF said nothing about the strike for more than three hours before finally announcing that IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has ordered an immediate inquiry into the strike. “The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved [civilians] and in no way directs strikes at journalists,” the military claimed, claiming further that it works to “minimize harm to them while safeguarding the security of our forces.”
The IDF published the findings Aug. 26 of its initial inquiry into the Aug. 25 strike on Nasser Hospital. It said troops "identified a camera that was positioned by Hamas in the area" and "was being used to observe the activity of IDF troops." This conclusion, the IDF said, was supported by "intelligence confirming Hamas' use of the Nasser Hospital to carry out terrorist activities since the start of the war," and that the troops then operated to "remove the threat by striking and dismantling the camera."
The statement said IDF Chief Zamir has ordered a further investigation into the strike's approval process, including the timing and the ammunition used.
Reuters and the Associated Press sent a joint letter to Israeli officials demanding "urgent and transparent accountability" for the strike. The International Committee of the Red Cross in Israel and the Occupied Territories said it was "unacceptable" that "medical personnel, journalists, patients and first responders" were killed as a result of the strike.
The respected Haaretz analyst Amos Harel wrote today: "Shooting at a hospital requires approval from someone with the rank of major general. According to initial IDF inquiries made Aug. 25, it seems no such approval was granted. The army's response indicates that the shooting was directed at people holding cameras on the roof and had been seen there several times in recent days. The assumption was that it was a Hamas observation post, which was tracking Israeli troops. But, at the same time, it was known that journalists were working in the hospital area and regularly broadcasting from there. Why didn't anyone connect the dots? The Israeli argument is more difficult to accept convincingly, given the fact that the IDF recently announced that it had intentionally killed media personnel who worked for the Al Jazeera network on the grounds that they were also Hamas operatives. Anyone who takes responsibility for killing journalists will have a hard time explaining that this time, they did it by accident."