Israel’s justification for Gaza hospital attack false, Reuters probe finds

Israel falsely claimed a Hamas camera was the people of a deadly onslaught that killed 22 people, including journalists.

Israel’s justification for bombing a Khan Younis infirmary successful confederate Gaza, claiming it targeted a Hamas camera, is false, according to an probe by the quality bureau Reuters.

Israeli forces planned the August 25 onslaught connected Nasser Hospital utilizing drone footage that, a subject authoritative said, showed a Hamas camera that was the people of the strike. But a Reuters reappraisal of ocular grounds and interviews with witnesses established that the camera successful question really belonged to the quality bureau and had agelong been utilized by 1 of its ain journalists.

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The “double-tap” onslaught killed 22 people, including 5 journalists – 1 of whom worked for Al Jazeera. Their deaths bring the fig of journalists killed successful Israeli attacks connected Gaza to much than 200 since the genocidal warfare began astir 2 years ago.

A time aft the infirmary strike, the service said troops had fired connected a “suspicious” camera draped successful cloth, claiming it was operated by Hamas. Drone footage aboriginal showed the instrumentality connected a infirmary stairwell, covered with a supplication rug belonging to Reuters writer Hussam al-Masri – who was killed successful the onslaught – not Hamas, Reuters found.

At slightest 35 times since May, al-Masri had positioned his camera connected the aforesaid stairwell to grounds unrecorded broadcasts distributed worldwide. He often utilized the rug to shield it from vigor and dust.

“The assertion that Hamas was filming Israeli forces from Nasser Hospital is mendacious and fabricated,” said Ismail al-Thawabta, caput of Gaza’s Government Media Office. “Israel is trying to screen up a full-fledged warfare transgression against the hospital, its patients and aesculapian staff.”

Reuters said it reviewed much than 100 videos and photos from the country and interviewed much than 2 twelve radical to reconstruct the events of the attack.

Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem described the stairwell arsenic “a makeshift newsroom” wherever journalists had gathered earlier the strike. Al-Masri’s unrecorded broadcast froze moments earlier the blast, which killed him on with respective civilian defence workers. A 2nd detonation struck arsenic rescuers rushed in.

“We were rescuing the martyrs and wounded … past a immense detonation among us,” said Reuters cameraman Hatem Khaled.

Israel has repeatedly targeted hospitals and different sites protected nether planetary humanitarian law, including schools, shelters, mosques and churches. Its attacks person besides killed journalists, aesculapian staff, archetypal responders and humanitarian workers. Despite repeated global calls for investigations, Israel continues to enactment with impunity portion carrying retired genocide successful Gaza.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says Israel has ne'er published the results of a ceremonial probe nor held anyone accountable for the killings of journalists.

“None of these incidents prompted a meaningful reappraisal of Israel’s rules of engagement, nor did planetary condemnation pb to immoderate alteration successful the signifier of attacks connected journalists implicit the past 2 years,” said Sara Qudah, CPJ’s determination manager for the Middle East and North Africa.