New footage shows that a “double tap” Israeli attack on a Gaza hospital that killed at least 22 people and sparked global outrage included three strikes rather than two.
A clip obtained by CNN shows that the second strike on the Nasser hospital on Monday was in fact two near-simultaneous hits, which caused most of the fatalities.
At least five journalists were killed in the attack on the hospital in Khan Younis, including Maryam Abu Daqqa, a photojournalist who worked forThe Independent Arabia.
A balcony at the hospital was hit at about 10.08am local time, killing Reuters journalist Hussam Al-Masri amongst other people, according to witnesses and health officials. Al-Masri’s camera feed then went black.
Nine minutes after the first strike, another two missiles hit journalists and rescuers who were attempting to help victims and document the attack.
A frame-by-frame analysis by CNN shows how the first missile hit a staircase where first responders were gathered, while another exploded in the same place just a fraction of a second later.
The four other journalists who were killed in the attack included cameraman Hussam al-Masri; photographer Mohammed Salama, who worked for Al Jazeera; Moaz Abu Taha, who worked for NBC; and Ahmad Abu Aziz, a freelance journalist, the Palestinian government media office said. A rescue worker was also among those killed, health officials added.
The US, the European Union, Canada, Britain, Egypt, China, France, Italy and Spain denounced the attack, while Germany called for an investigation.
US president Donald Trump said: “I’m not happy about it. I don’t want to see it. At the same time, we have to end that whole nightmare.”
Britain’s foreign secretary David Lammy said he was “horrified” by the attack and called for an “immediate ceasefire”.
Targeting journalists, rescue workers and civilians is a war crime and violates international humanitarian law. Israel has denied allegations of war crimes in Gaza.
Ms Abu Daqqa, 33, and other journalists regularly based themselves at Nasser Hospital during the war.
She captured the damaged stairwell of a Gaza Strip hospital in her final photographs, moments before being killed.
Her camera, retrieved on Wednesday, contained photos depicting people ascending the staircase after the initial damage, while others watched from the windows of the main health facility in southern Gaza.
Israel said it had killed six militants in the attack but that it would investigate how civilians, including the five journalists, were killed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described it as a “tragic mishap”.
The chief of general staff acknowledged several “gaps” in the investigation so far, including in relation to the kind of ammunition that was used to take out the camera. A further inquiry was ordered into how the decision was made to target the hospital.
Israel has attacked hospitals numerous times throughout the war, claiming that Hamas embeds itself in and around medical facilities.
The latest attack followed Israel’s plans to widen its offensive to heavily populated areas in an attempt to destroy Hamas.
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz has vowed to press on with the offensive against Gaza City, despite alarm abroad and objections at home.
A sixth journalist, Palestinian correspondent Hassan Douhan, was killed in a separate incident in Khan Younis in the south of Gaza, Al Jazeera reported.
More than 62,000 Palestinians have died since 7 October, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Around 1,200 people were killed by Hamas in its initial attack, and around 250 were taken hostage.
