The IDF has launched an investigation after two volleys of tank fire were launched at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Monday.
At least 20 people were killed in the double-tap strike, including five journalists and several rescue workers. The second strike was captured on live news streams, which showed rescue workers and journalists operating at the scene right as the tank shells hit.
While Gaza hospitals have been at the center of fighting several times throughout the war in light of Hamas’ misuse of the facilities, this time appeared to be different. The first official Israeli statement was only issued several hours after the incident, and it included an apology for the harm done to uninvolved civilians and journalists.
In the statement, the IDF stressed that it “acts to mitigate harm to uninvolved individuals as much as possible while maintaining the safety of IDF troops.”
IDF Spokesperson Effie Defrin added later that Israel was aware of reports of harm caused to civilians and journalists, stressing that IDF forces are operating in an “extremely complex reality.”
“Hamas terrorists deliberately use civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, as shields. They have even operated from the Nasser hospital itself. Hamas began this war, created impossible fighting conditions — and is preventing its end by still holding 50 hostages,” Defrin said.
Some of the Israelis kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7 were held hostage in Nasser Hospital for at least part of the time they were in captivity.
Defrin emphasized that the IDF is committed to international law and is obligated to investigate its operations thoroughly and professionally.
Later in the evening, Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office issued an English statement saying that “Israel deeply regrets the tragic mishap that occurred today at the Nasser Hospital in Gaza.”
“Israel values the work of journalists, medical staff, and all civilians,” the PMO added. “The military authorities are conducting a thorough investigation. Our war is with Hamas terrorists. Our just goals are defeating Hamas and bringing our hostages home.”
What went wrong?
Israeli media reported on Monday that IDF forces operating in the area had noticed a camera on the roof of the hospital that they felt was monitoring them and posed a threat.
According to the reports, the troops were given authorization to take out the camera with a precision drone strike, but, instead, four tank shells were fired in two waves at the site. Strikes on hospitals in Gaza require authorization from top commanders and, occasionally, from IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir himself. As of Tuesday night, the decision to launch tank shells instead of the precision strike, and who gave the green light for such a strike, were two major questions that remained unanswered.
On Tuesday, the IDF released the initial findings of its inquiry. According to the IDF, Golani Brigade troops identified a camera they said was positioned by Hamas at the Nasser Hospital to monitor IDF soldiers and direct terrorist operations against them.
The IDF added that six of the people killed in the strikes were later identified as Hamas terrorists, including one who took part in the infiltration of Israeli territory on Oct. 7, 2023.
The inquiry into the incident is ongoing, with the chief of staff instructing investigators to examine how the strike was authorized and what decision-making process happened in the field.
News agencies demand answers
Several of the journalists killed and injured in the strikes worked with the Associated Press, Reuters, Al Jazeera, and the Middle East Eye. The AP and Reuters sent a letter to the Israeli government and the IDF on Monday demanding a clear explanation for the strikes.
“We are outraged that independent journalists were among the victims of this strike on the hospital, a location that is protected under international law. These journalists were present in their professional capacity, doing critical work bearing witness. Their work is especially vital in light of Israel’s nearly two-year ban on foreign journalists entering Gaza,” the AP and Reuters said.
“The IDF has a duty under international law to protect journalists and civilians and to take all feasible precautions to prevent harm. Striking a hospital, followed by a second strike while journalists and rescuers were responding, raises urgent questions about whether these obligations were upheld,” the two agencies added, reiterating a call to allow more journalists into Gaza.
The targeted location had been used by both Reuters and the AP for livestreams and filming over the past week and month.
Middle East Eye’s editor-in-chief David Hearst insisted that the journalists were not “collateral deaths” and accused Israel of killing them in a “targeted attack on first responders and journalists.”
The Foreign Press Association in Israel condemned the strikes as well, stressing that this is “among the deadliest Israeli attacks on journalists working for international media since the Gaza war began.”
“This has gone on far too long. Too many journalists in Gaza have been killed by Israel without justification. Israel continues to block international journalists from independent access to Gaza,” the Association added. “This must be a watershed moment. We appeal to international leaders: do everything you can to protect our colleagues. We cannot do it ourselves.”
The strike on the Nasser Hospital came two weeks after four Al Jazeera journalists were killed in an IDF strike in Gaza City. The IDF said that one of the four, Anas al-Sharif, was the head of a Hamas terrorist cell. The IDF first publicly listed al-Sharif as a Hamas terrorist in October of last year, publishing several documents that illustrated this point. Al-Sharif and his employer, Al Jazeera, denied that he was affiliated with Hamas.
Originally Published Aug 27, 2025 12:49PM EDT
