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Israel says Gaza strike that killed journalists targeted 'Hamas camera'
The attack on Nasser hospital on Monday has killed at least 20 people, including journalists who worked for Reuters, the Associated Press and Al Jazeera
- PUBLISHED: Tue 26 Aug 2025, 8:07 PM
The Israeli military said on Tuesday an initial inquiry into its strike on a Gaza hospital that killed five journalists determined that troops had identified a camera "positioned by Hamas" in the area to observe its forces.
Israeli forces struck Nasser hospital in the south of the Gaza Strip on Monday, killing at least 20 people, including journalists who worked for Reuters, the Associated Press, Al Jazeera and others outlets.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said later on Monday that Israel deeply regretted what he called a "tragic mishap".
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Earlier on Tuesday, the UN insisted that Israel must not only investigate alleged unlawful killings in Gaza like the hospital strike, but also ensure those probes yield results.
"There needs to be justice," United Nations rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan told reporters in Geneva, adding that the large number of media workers killed in the Gaza war "raises many, many questions about the targeting of journalists".
Reuters, the Associated Press and Al Jazeera all issued statements mourning their slain contributors.
"The Israeli authorities have, in the past, announced investigations in such killings," Kheetan said.
"It's of course the responsibility of Israel, as the occupying power, to investigate -- but these investigations need to yield results," he said.
"We haven't seen results or accountability measures yet. We have yet to see the results of these investigations, and we call for accountability and justice."
Kheetan said at least 247 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza since the war was triggered by militant group Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
"These journalists are the eyes and the ears of the whole world and they must be protected," he said.
Asked if Monday's attack could amount to a so-called "double-tap" strike, in which an initial strike is followed by a second hitting rescue workers and other civilians, Kheetan said this needed to be investigated.
"We can say that the Israeli military reportedly launched multiple air strikes on the Nasser Medical Complex, and there were two air strikes in a short period of time," he said.
"We know that one of the five journalists appears to have been killed in the first air strike while three others, including the woman journalist, appear to have been killed in the second air strike," he added, describing this as "a shock" and "unacceptable".
"This incident and the killing of all civilians, including journalists, must be thoroughly and independently investigated, and justice must follow."
(With inputs from AFP)