What are double-tap strikes that Israel used to hit a hospital?

Israel has killed 20 people, including journalists and wellness workers, successful a onslaught connected Nasser Hospital successful the confederate Gaza Strip.

In fact, it was 2 strikes that deed the infirmary successful Khan Younis connected Monday 10 minutes isolated astir 10am (07:00 GMT).

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said successful a connection released successful English lone that Israel profoundly regretted what helium characterised arsenic a “tragic mishap” without explaining however Israel had deed the aforesaid infirmary not erstwhile but doubly successful evident error.

So what is simply a double-tap strike? Is it legal? Here’s what we know:

What happened astatine Nasser Hospital?

The archetypal onslaught deed the apical storey of the infirmary wherever Reuters cameraman Hussam al-Masri was operating the quality agency’s unrecorded feed.

The 2nd onslaught was filmed unrecorded arsenic it killed rescue workers and journalists who had tally to the country to assistance aft the archetypal strike.

Israel told overseas doctors volunteering astatine Nasser Hospital to permission the installation earlier the onslaught for “some arbitrary reason” and instructed them not to instrumentality until the adjacent day, Dr Mimi Syed, who has done 2 unpaid missions to Gaza, told CNN, calling Netanyahu’s connection of a “tragic mishap” “absolutely untrue”.

https://x.com/_ZachFoster/status/1960073822985437419

What is simply a double-tap strike?

Essentially, it’s 2 strikes connected the aforesaid target.

The archetypal onslaught is intended to termination an idiosyncratic oregon individuals, the 2nd to termination immoderate rescue workers who travel to help.

The United States is thought to person been among the archetypal to usage double-taps extensively, carrying retired double-tap drone strikes successful Pakistan, Yemen and Afghanistan during the medication of erstwhile President Barack Obama.

The maneuver was adopted by different armies, specified arsenic those of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the Russian service successful Ukraine.

How overmuch does Israel usage it?

Israel present “routinely” uses the maneuver successful its warfare connected Gaza, according to a joint probe successful July by Israeli magazines +972 and Local Call.

One root contiguous successful the subject bid rooms overseeing the strikes said planners cognize that the maneuver amounts to a decease condemnation for the sometimes hundreds of radical injured successful the archetypal onslaught and their rescuers.

“If there’s a onslaught connected a elder commander, different 1 volition beryllium carried retired afterwards to guarantee rescue efforts don’t instrumentality place,” the root explained.

“First responders, rescue teams – they termination them. They onslaught again, connected apical of them.”

Is it legal?

Not astatine all.

Double strikes are breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which prohibit the targeting of medics, anyone assisting successful rescue efforts oregon those wounded successful the archetypal strike.

In fact, Monday’s strikes targeted a infirmary afloat of aesculapian staff, rescuers and journalists.

All of the supra are protected nether planetary law, yet Israel has consistently been accused of targeting them successful its warfare connected Gaza.

There are nary close numbers for the full fig of healthcare and Civil Defence workers Israel has killed during its warfare connected Gaza. However, Monday’s killings bring the fig of journalists killed by Israel successful Gaza to astatine slightest 273, according to an Al Jazeera tally, making it the deadliest azygous struggle for reporters successful history.

Israel has besides consistently been accused of deliberately targeting journalists successful its attacks connected Gaza.

Are these ‘warning taps’?

No, you’re reasoning of “roof-knocking”.

Roof-knocking refers to dropping airy ordnance onto the extortion of a people soon earlier a superior onslaught to “warn” inhabitants that a larger onslaught is imminent and ostensibly springiness them clip to evacuate.

When the extortion sound is connected a residential building, full extended families would find themselves with minutes to fly their homes.

What Israel calls roof-knocking dates to its erstwhile wars connected Gaza, specified arsenic 2008, 2012 and 2014, and is often conflated with immoderate benignant of warnings issued to radical surviving successful a determination Israel wants to onslaught – sometimes giving them arsenic small arsenic 5 minutes to get out.

Rights groups, including Amnesty International, said Israel manipulates what could beryllium claimed arsenic a humanitarian measurement by utilizing heavier ordnance during the archetypal strike, successful effect turning it into a treble tap.

Condemning the signifier during Israel’s 2014 warfare connected Gaza, Amnesty said: “There is nary mode that firing a rocket astatine a civilian location tin represent an effectual ‘warning’.”

Two days aft it started its existent warfare connected Gaza, Israel said it would nary longer widen this informing to Palestinians. Instead, it said, substance messaging and what were recovered to often beryllium out-of-date maps would beryllium utilized to usher civilians retired of harm’s way.

Journalists killed successful an Israeli onslaught connected Nasser Hospital connected August 25, 2025 [Screengrab/Al Jazeera]

What did Israel say?

In summation to saying that hitting the aforesaid infirmary helping doubly was a “tragic mishap”, Netanyahu claimed Israel “values the enactment of journalists, aesculapian unit and each civilians”, adding: “The subject authorities are conducting a thorough investigation.”

https://x.com/netanyahu/status/1960030187933835604

The Israeli service issued a connection claiming it regretted “any harm to uninvolved individuals and does not people journalists arsenic such”.

Surely Israel plans to investigate?

An analysis successful August by Action connected Armed Violence concluded that 88 percent of the investigations the Israeli subject said it was launching into its ain behaviour were either stalled oregon closed without action.

According to its ain leaked report, Israel has known passim its warfare successful Gaza that 83 percent of the radical it was sidesplitting were civilians, amounting to astir 52,000 radical successful 22 months of the war.

It has besides been accused of systematically destroying Gaza’s healthcare strategy arsenic good arsenic routinely detaining and torturing its healthcare staff.