| 2025 Nasser Hospital strikes | |
|---|---|
| Part of the2025 Khan Yunis offensive of theIsraeli invasion of the Gaza Strip during theGaza war | |
  Nasser Hospital | |
| Location | Khan Yunis,Gaza Strip,Palestine |
| Coordinates | 31°20′52″N34°17′36″E / 31.34778°N 34.29333°E /31.34778; 34.29333 |
| Date | 25 August 2025 10:00 a.m. – 10:17 a.m. (EEST) |
| Target | Nasser Hospital |
Attack type | Airstrikes or shelling,war crime |
| Deaths | 22, including five journalists |
| Injured | 50+ |
| Perpetrator |  Israel Defense Forces |
On 25 August 2025, anIsrael Defense Forcesdouble tap strike hit theNasser Hospital inKhan Yunis,Gaza Strip, killing 22 people, including 5 journalists. Among the journalists killed were the following aReuters cameraman,Hussam al-Masri;Mariam Dagga, a 33-year-old female freelance journalist forAssociated Press;Mohammed Salama, anAl Jazeera cameraman;Moaz Abu Taha, a freelance photographer who also was working with Reuters, andAhmed Abu Aziz, a correspondent forMiddle East Eye andQuds News Network. The attack also claimed the lives of medical staff, a paramedic, and other civilians, with approximately 50 others wounded, including Reuters photographer Hatem Khaled who later died. The attacks targeted the hospital's fourth floor, resulting in casualties and damage. The strikes have drawn international condemnation and have been widely covered regarding theprotection of medical facilities and journalists during theGaza war.[1]
The attack occurred amidst the ongoingGaza war and as part ofthe violence against journalists in Gaza. Gazan journalistAnas Al-Sharif wasassassinated in a targeted killing on August 10th, a few weeks before the attack on Nasser hospital.
Nasser Hospital is one of the main hospitals in Gaza and the largest in southern Gaza. The hospital has faced multiple attacks during the war, including shelling and raids. By 2025, Nasser Hospital was operating under critical shortages of supplies and staff.[1] The hospital was reportedly operating at full capacity, treating over 1,000 patients at the time of the strikes.[1]
The targeted location of the strikes was the top of an outdoor staircase which was regularly used by reporters and news outlets for its view of the city, withReuters using the location to broadcast a live stream throughout the week before the attack.[2][3]
Double tap strikes are usuallywar crimes according to international law because, by their very nature, they are either intended to target civilians who respond to an attack or are enacted with disregard for the lives of civilian responders.[4][5][6]
| Youtube video fromNew York Post | |
|---|---|
 A video from Al-Ghad shows the second moments after the targeting of journalists by the Israeli strike onYouTube |
TheIsrael Defense Forces conducted two strikes onNasser Hospital on 25 August 2025. The initial strike occurred at approximately 10:00 a.m. local time, with a second strike following roughly 10 minutes later, according to medical officials.[7] The first strike targeted the hospital’s top floor.[8] A second strike hit the area as rescue workers and journalists arrived, a tactic known as adouble tap strike.[9][7][10][11] On 27 AugustCNN showed phone camera footage from the incident that suggests that the second strike actually consisted of a near-simultaneous group of two strikes.[12] On August 29,NBC analysis of footage suggested that the first strike also consisted of two munitions since smoke was visible from two different locations afterwards, with one munition hitting the area where journalists worked and where the Reuters live feed was running while another hit theintensive care unit.[13]
According toThe Jerusalem Post, the strikes were likely shelling rather than air strikes, with the IDF saying theIsraeli Air Force was not involved in the operation.[14] An Israeli security officer speaking withCNN that the forces involved in the attack were authorized to strike the camera via a drone, but instead fired two tank shells.[2]
An investigation byBBC Verify, published on 29 August 2025, concluded the hospital was struck at least four times rather than twice, as initially reported. Through an analysis of video footage, including material from eyewitnesses and freelancers on the ground, experts identified that the first wave of attacks involved two simultaneous strikes on separate staircases. The second wave, originally thought to be a single strike, was found to be two near-simultaneous blasts hitting the same location within fractions of a second. Experts also suggested thatLAHAT missiles, a type of guided munition capable of being fired from tanks, drones, or helicopters, were likely used in the attack, with the rapid succession of the strikes indicating that at least two tanks may have been involved. Satellite images reviewed by the BBC placed IDF forces 2.5 km from the hospital, within firing range.[15]
According to Gaza's health authorities and international reports, the attacks killed at least 22 people, including:[16]
Most of the deaths were caused by the second strike.[7] The attacks damaged the emergency staircase and disrupted operations in the surgical unit, further crippling the facility's ability to function.[1]
Shortly after the strikes, Israeli officials indicated that after an initial inquiry they had found that troops from theGolani Brigade inKhan Younis reported a "Hamas camera" that was near the hospital and was used for directing militant activity against the IDF. Officials did not provide any evidence, nor explain why the two strikes occurred or if there had been any attempt to determine if the camera was being operated by a reporter or Hamas.[2] TheAssociated Press later determined the camera actually belonged toReuters.[18] An investigation by Reuters in September 2025 stated that the targeted camera wasHussam al-Masri's.[19]
After international outcry, IDF investigators alleged 6 people who were killed in the attack were "Hamas militants". IDF spokesperson,Effie Defrin told reporters that while the IDF tries to avoid striking civilians it must at times pursue Hamas into civilian areas like hospitals. Defrin did not provide specific information regarding what Hamas assets were struck at the time, nor supply the names of the six militants said to be killed at the hospital.[20][2][21]Ramy Abdu, the chairman of theEuro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, directly challenged the claims by the IDF. He stated that two of the people labelled as Hamas militants were killed the day prior to their attack, that Imad al-Shaer was not a militant but a volunteer who had coordinated evacuations with the IDF, and that one of the people labelled as militants was not engaged in any activities but rather one of the hospital staff. He further suggested that the Israeli military gathered names from social media posts and not official documents that erroneously labelled people who were killed before the IDF attack.[22]
TheGaza Health Ministry described the strikes as part of a "systematic destruction of the health system" and a continuation of "genocide." The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate condemned the attack as an "open war against free media.[1]Hamas rejected Israel's claim that it had targeted an observation camera in the area as a "false narrative."[23]
According toThe Jerusalem Post the IDF "admitted that the attack on the hospital was approved, meaning there was some Hamas target in place."[14] Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu's office later described the incident as a "tragic mishap", and the IDF announced an inquiry. The IDF said it regretted "any harm to uninvolved individuals and does not target journalists as such."[1] Netanyahu's office did not provide a similar apology in Hebrew.[24]
On 29 August 2025, activists and journalists gathered inNazareth, to protest the killing of Palestinian journalists. They wore “Press” insignia stickers and held banners with messages read “Don’t assassinate the truth,” using the death of reporters as a rallying cry for peace and press freedom.[25]
United States PresidentDonald Trump expressed displeasure, stating, "I'm not happy about it," but did not elaborate further.[1]French PresidentEmmanuel Macron called the strikes "intolerable,"[27] whileBritish Foreign MinisterDavid Lammy said he was "horrified" and demanded an immediate ceasefire.[28]Turkey's presidential communications office labeled the attacks a "war crime" and an assault on press freedom.[29]Canada,Germany,Switzerland,Qatar,Saudi Arabia, andKuwait also condemned the Israeli strikes.[30]
Reporters Without Borders headThibaut Bruttin said "There are guarantees that should be granted to journalists covering conflicts, and none of that seems to be applying."[7]
TheCommittee to Protect Journalists said: "Israel's broadcasted killing of journalists in Gaza continues while the world watches and fails to act firmly".
TheForeign Press Association said the latest killings must serve as a "watershed moment" and urged international leaders to act. It called on Israel to "halt its abhorrent practice of targeting journalists", adding that "too many journalists have been killed by Israel without justification".
Reuters changed its policy and didn't share detailed locations of its journalists with the Israeli military, citing thenumber of journalists killed by IDF strikes.[13]
Qatari news media organizationAl Jazeera Media Network condemned the killings as a “horrific crime,” noting that medical staff and journalist were targeted in what they described as a violation of international norms.[31]
