Double-tap strike suggests killing of civilians, rescue workers and journalists deliberate and not a mistake
Israel’s twin strike on the Nasser hospital in Gaza, which killed five journalists including staff working for the Associated Press, Reuters, NBC and Al Jazeera, is a potential violation of international law writ large.
The attack targeted a civilian building, specifically a hospital, in a reckless double-tap strike that killed civilians, rescue workers and journalists among them. All categories that should be protected under international law.
While the Israel Defense Forces – which has killed about 200 journalists already in the Gaza war – immediately attempted to suggest the killing of civilians had been in error, the reality is that it appears to be policy and not a mistake.
What is striking about this incident is that each individual element – the targeting of a working hospital, of journalists and rescue workers, of civilian injured already under treatment – would be expected to draw accusations of a war crime in its own right.
