Outrage After Israel Kills Five Journalists In ‘Double-Tap’ Attack On Gaza Hospital

(CNN) Israel is facing fierce condemnation after a pair of strikes on a Gaza hospital killed five journalists as well as medical workers and others on Monday.

At least 20 people were killed in the attack, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, with many more injured.

Israel carried out back-to-back strikes on the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis separated by only a matter of minutes, the ministry said. The “double-tap” hits killed journalists, health workers and emergency response crews who had rushed to the scene after the initial attack, the Nasser Hospital said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later conceded that journalists and first responders had been killed, referring to their deaths as a “tragic mishap.”

Dr. Mohammad Saqer, a hospital spokesman and head of nursing, said that five journalists and four health workers had died.

The journalists killed are Mohammad Salama, a cameraman from Al Jazeera, Hussam Al-Masri, who was a contractor for Reuters, Mariam Abu Dagga, who has worked with the Associated Press (AP) and other outlets throughout the war, and freelance journalists Moath Abu Taha and Ahmed Abu Aziz.

Gaza’s Civil Defense organization said one of its crew members also died in the strike.

The Israeli attacks hit a balcony on the hospital used by reporters for an elevated view of Khan Younis.

A first strike on the hospital hit the fourth floor of Nasser Medical Complex, the health ministry said, followed by a second attack a short time later that hit ambulance crews and emergency responders.

Video from the scene shows Saqer holding up a blood-soaked cloth after the first strike when another explosion rocks the building, filling the air with smoke and sending people running for cover.

A live camera from Al Ghad TV shows emergency workers on a damaged staircase at the hospital when the second attack hits the building.

“As we were evacuating the injured, while the civil defence and emergency workers were present, the staircase was targeted for the second time,” Reuters journalist Hatem Sadeq Omar, who was wounded and speaking from a hospital gurney, told CNN. “There were journalists, patients, nurses, civil defense were on the stairs. We were directly targeted.”

Ahmed Siyam, a civil defense worker who was also wounded said: “We went up and found the martyrs in pieces. We carried two martyrs in body bags. And as we were putting together the third whose body was torn to burnt pieces, we were shocked with another explosion.”

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in an updated statement Monday evening that it “carried out a strike in the area of” the hospital. IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said the military was “aware of reports that harm was caused to civilians, including journalists.” Defin said the military was operating in an “extremely complex reality.”

“The IDF does not intentionally target civilians,” Defrin insisted. “Any incident that raises concern in this regard is address by the relevant mechanisms in the IDF.” He blamed Hamas for using civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, as bases.

The military’s chief has instructed an initial inquiry to be opened as soon as possible, and Defrin said the military was obligated to investigate “thoroughly and professionally.”

An Israeli security official with knowledge of the details of that initial inquiry said IDF forces identified a camera on the roof of the hospital that they claimed was being used by Hamas to monitor the Israeli military.

The forces received authorization to strike the camera with a drone, the source said. But instead, Israeli forces fired two tank shells: the first at the camera and the second at rescue forces.

The details of the inquiry are a remarkable admission from an Israeli official that it intentionally targeted the first responders that arrived at the scene after the initial strike.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an admission that Israel had killed journalists and emergency responders, said that Israel “deeply regrets” what he called a “tragic mishap” at Nasser hospital. “Israel values the work of journalists, medical staff, and all civilians. The military authorities are conducting a thorough investigation.”

Journalist organizations and international bodies reacted to the deaths with shock and anger.

In a joint letter to senior Israeli officials, top AP and Reuters executives demanded “urgent and transparent accountability.”

“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,” the letter read.

The two news agencies also questioned whether the IDF was capable of truly investigating itself.