The Israeli prime minister, expressed his condolences last night for the “tragic accident at the Nasser Hospital” and said that the authorities are driving a “thorough investigation”, after Israel Bombardeara, twice, this medical center among them five journalists.
“Israel deeply laments the tragic accident today at Nasser de Gaza Hospital,” said the president in a statement. “Israel values the work of journalists, medical staff and all civilians. Military authorities are carrying out an exhaustive investigation,” he added in the text, in which he insisted that Israel’s war is against “the terrorists of”.
The Israeli forces first bombarded the hospital, and when journalists and rescuers came to him to help the victims and document what happened, they attacked him again, according to the Ministry of Health.
This technique, known as “double coup”, is according to international law, since it seeks to cause victims among civil personnel who come to evacuate and rescue the possible victims of a first bombing.
Hours after the event, the Israeli forces attributed the authorship of the attack against the hospital and said they regret “any damage to unwilling individuals.”
In this double attack Hossam al Masri (cameraman from the Reuters News Agency), Mohamed Salama (cameraman of the Catarí al Jazeera), Mariam Abu Daqqa (informant of the US agency AP), Moaz Abu Taha (reporter of the US chain NBC) and Ahmed Abu Aziz (journalist for the qud qud feed).
According to the Gazati government, in the hands of Hamas, there are already 245 journalists and communicators killed in Gaza since the beginning of the Israeli offensive, in October 2023. The Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ, in English) has registered the death of at least 192 reporters.
Wave of complaints against Tel Aviv
The double attack has unleashed a wave of convictions by several countries, international organizations and NGOs, which remember that it is a violation of international law to attack civilians. The UN and outstanding humanitarian organizations demanded immediate investigation and the end of impunity, underlining the critical need to protect civilians and professionals in conflict areas.
The British Foreign Minister David Lammy expressed his “horror” by the incident: “horrified by Israel’s attack to Naser hospital. Civilians, health personnel and journalists must be protected. We need a high immediate fire,” he said in his X account.
Along the same lines, the Government of Spain strongly condemned the attack, qualifying it as “flagrant and unacceptable violation of international humanitarian law that must be investigated.” “We reiterate that especially protected places cannot be attacks,” said the Spanish Foreign Ministry in a statement.
The French president, said that the attack is “intolerable” and that “civilians and journalists must be protected under all circumstances”, and called Israel to “respect international law.”
From Brussels, the Emergency Commissioner and Crisis Preparation of the EU, Hadja Lahbib, asked Israel to “cease to kill” journalists, doctors and members of rescue teams. “Once again, I urge Israel to cease the practice of killing those who try to inform the world about what happens in Gaza,” the social network X wrote via.
The UN Secretary General, “strongly” condemned the double attack and requested a “prompt and impartial investigation into these murders.” Guterres emphasized that this incident shows the “extreme risks faced by medical personnel and journalists when performing their vital work amid this brutal conflict”, and recalled that they must be “respected and protected at all times” according to international humanitarian law.
Other international organizations such as reporters without borders (RSF) have also condemned the attack, which requested the “end of the impunity” of Israel, before a new murder of journalists. According to the Gazati authorities, since October 2023, 245 journalists, informants and ‘influencers’ have been killed.
An “urgent meeting” of the UN Security Council to enforce a resolution that protects journalists in conflict, “end the impunity of crimes against journalists, protect Palestinian journalists and open access to the enclave to all reporters.”
Doctors Without Borders (MSF), for whom Mariam Abu Daqqa collaborated, also regretted the “Horondo” attack and showed the “grief” of his team and his “indignation” for the continuity of attacks against health professionals and journalists.
“During the last 22 months, we have witnessed how Israeli forces have devastated health centers, silenced journalists and buried health professionals under the rubble,” said MSF’s emergency coordinator in Gaza, Jerome Grimaud.
The foreign press association (FPA) in Israel and the Palestinian territories requested “immediate” explanations to the Israeli Army and Netanyahu.
