More than a dozen Palestinians were killed in a pair of Israeli strikes on a hospital in southern Gaza, according to the Nasser Medical Complex, including journalists from multiple outlets. Photo courtesy Rediff.

27 August 2025

ALAN HAYES

 

TOO many times have innocent people suffered 'tragic mishaps' at the hands of the 'Middle-Eastern butcher', yet Netanyahu believes that his hollow words will excuse him from the slaughter that he continues to inflict.

 

Last Monday was one of the deadliest attacks on journalists during the nearly two-year war. The Gaza health ministry, which provided the death toll, also said that dozens more had been wounded. The five journalists who were killed had worked for media outlets, including Reuters, The Associated Press (AP) and Al Jazeera.

 

It was a 'double tap' strike by Israel: A live video feed from Al-Ghad TV, a broadcaster based in Cairo, captured the aftermath of the blast at Nasser Hospital. The video, which was verified by The New York Times, showed emergency responders and others moving a white body bag on a staircase. Shortly after, a second strike is captured live on camera. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to questions as to whether its forces had conducted a 'double tap', the term for a double strike at the same location. Rights groups have deplored such attacks.

 

The war in Gaza has been deadly for journalists, with at least 192 killed so far, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Israel has barred international correspondents from reporting freely in Gaza, even though so much of the world currently relies on Palestinian journalists to report from Gaza.

 

The journalists were killed by strikes on the fourth floor open stairwell of the Nasser Hospital building, where they were standing along with first responders and medical staff.

 

The first strike took place around 10 a.m. when Hussam al-Masri, a cameraman for the Reuters news agency, was operating a live feed with a bird's-eye view of nearby Israeli military positions, including tanks, in the devastated city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

 

A second missile, fired from a tank, slammed into the same spot just minutes later, as rescue workers raced to Masri, with other journalists photographing and filming the aftermath of that initial strike, according to witnesses and footage. At the site, another camera feed for Al-Ghad news channel zoomed in, capturing the moment of the second attack in real time.

 

"This is a criminal enemy that wants to silence us," Reuters photojournalist, Hatem Omar, said. He was among several journalists wounded in the attack.

 

In a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the military's top brass, Reuters and AP expressed their "outrage" and demanded a swift and transparent investigation.

 

"We are outraged that independent journalists were among the victims of this strike on the hospital, a location that is protected under international law," the letter said.

 

But they raised doubts about how Israel investigates military actions. "We have found the [Israeli military's] willingness and ability to investigate itself in past incidents to rarely result in clarity and action, raising serious questions, including whether Israel is deliberately targeting live feeds in order to suppress information," the letter said.

 

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned the attack. "Israel's broadcasted killing of journalists in Gaza continues while the world watches and fails to act firmly on the most horrific attacks the press has ever faced in recent history," CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah said.

 

The CPJ, which put the number of journalists and media workers killed since the war began at 197 including 189 Palestinians in Gaza, called for "the international community to hold Israel accountable for its continued unlawful attacks on the press".

 

The Foreign Press Association in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, which represents hundreds of journalists including NPR reporters, said the attack should mark a watershed moment as Israel continues to block independent access.

 

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the Palestinian presidency urged the international community, particularly the U.N. Security Council and the United Nations, to provide protection for journalists and hold Israel accountable.

 

The continuing annihilation of innocent people in Gaza is an abhorrence to humanity and clearly stands Netanyahu side-by-side with Adolf Hitler and the other murderous despots of history.

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