<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/25/israel-attack-gaza-hospital-may-constitute-war-on-many-fronts>
"Israel’s twin strike on the Nasser hospital in Gaza, which killed five
journalists including staff working for the
Associated Press,
Reuters, 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, with rescue workers and journalists
among them. All categories that should be protected under international law.
While the Israel Defense Forces, which have 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.
Taken together it points to something far darker, a “horrific” incident in the
words of the British foreign secretary, David Lammy.
As well as the 20 killed in the strikes, another 50 were injured according to
the head of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,
including patients who were already critically ill.
“While people in Gaza are being starved, their already limited access to health
care is being further crippled by repeated attacks,” Ghebreyesus said on X. “We
cannot say it loudly enough: STOP attacks on health care. Ceasefire now!”
Explicitly linking the issues, the UN human rights office spokesperson, Ravina
Shamdasani, said in a statement: “The killing of journalists in Gaza should
shock the world – not into stunned silence but into action, demanding
accountability and justice. Journalists are not a target. Hospitals are not a
target.”
It has been well documented how Israel has targeted hospitals and medical
staff, who have been killed, wounded and abducted, on multiple occasions. But
the reckless double-tap strike, where the IDF attacks a location for a second
time as rescue workers and other civilians arrive, say critics, is an
increasingly common tactic."
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
