Did Hamas hide a camera inside the Gaza hospital struck by Israel?

The deadly Israeli strike on Gaza’s Nasser Hospital has become one of the most contentious incidents in Israel’s war against Hamas.

At least 20 people were killed in two consecutive attacks on the hospital in Khan Younis, among them journalists, health workers and civilians.

The Israeli army has defended the action as an attempt to disable a Hamas surveillance camera, but hospital officials, witnesses, and Hamas representatives have categorically rejected those claims.

The events have triggered condemnation from international organisations and renewed calls for accountability, highlighting once again how Gaza’s medical staff and journalists have been repeatedly caught in the line of fire during nearly two years of war.

What has Israel said?

On Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the preliminary results of its internal inquiry into the Nasser Hospital strike. The army said its forces identified what they believed was a Hamas-operated surveillance camera on the hospital grounds.

According to the military, the camera was being used to track Israeli troop activity nearby in order to assist Hamas in planning attacks.

Troops decided to remove the threat, leading to two successive strikes launched from a tank. The army stated that the strikes killed six Hamas gunmen, among them members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Photographs of the alleged suspects were released in a written statement the following day. The IDF insisted the operation was aimed strictly at neutralising the camera and those it believed were operating in support of armed groups.

In the same document, Israel’s Chief of the General Staff admitted to “several gaps” that required closer scrutiny.

These included a review of the chain of authorisation for the strike, the selection of ammunition, and the timing of the decisions taken in the field. The review is ongoing, with further examinations ordered into how the attack was approved and executed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the incident by describing it as a “tragic mishap.” The phrase, however, left unanswered questions about whether Israel now considers the strike an error of judgement, an intelligence failure, or a procedural breakdown.

Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani, a spokesperson for the Israeli army said, “We can confirm that the Reuters and AP journalists were not a target of the strike.”

He stressed that the army chief had instructed an additional inquiry into the strike’s authorisation and the events leading up to it.

What actually happened on the ground?

Accounts from those present at Nasser Hospital paint a devastating picture that appears at odds with the official Israeli narrative. Witnesses said the first strike hit the upper floors of one of the hospital buildings.

At that moment, Reuters cameraman Hussam al-Masri was broadcasting live from the site. His feed abruptly went black as the blast killed him instantly.

Another individual, not immediately identified, was also killed in this initial strike.

The immediate aftermath saw journalists, health staff, and relatives of patients rushing to the site via an external staircase. Photographs taken from below showed at least 16 people gathered there, many of them wearing the fluorescent vests used by medical responders or journalists.

No one visible in the images was armed.

Moments later, a second strike landed on the very staircase where people had assembled to assist victims of the first blast.

Video footage captured by Al-Ghad TV shows the staircase engulfed in smoke after the impact. Hospital officials confirmed that 18 people were killed in this second strike, including journalists and emergency workers.

Military officials have not publicly explained why the second strike was ordered, or how they concluded that militants were among the civilians gathered on the staircase.

Both strikes were carried out by tank fire, according to a military official who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

Such consecutive attacks, often called “double taps,” have been condemned in past conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, particularly when the second strike targets rescuers.

International humanitarian law prohibits deliberate targeting of hospitals, though they can lose protection if used for military purposes. However, any attack must still be proportionate and precautionary measures must be taken to minimise civilian harm.

How did Hamas react?

Hamas rejected Israel’s explanation for striking the hospital. Bassem Naim, a senior figure in the group’s political bureau, dismissed the claim that militants had placed a surveillance camera there.

“If this claim was true, there are many means to neutralise this camera without targeting a health care facility with a tank shell,” he told AP.

Separately, the Hamas government media office issued a statement contesting Israel’s assertion that six gunmen had been killed at the hospital.

According to Hamas, at least two of the men named by Israel as militant casualties had in fact been killed elsewhere and at different times.

One was said to have died in al-Mawasi, some distance from the hospital, while another was killed in a separate incident. The statement did not clarify whether those individuals were civilians or fighters.

Hospital administrators also dismissed Israel’s rationale.

In a formal statement they declared, “Nasser hospital categorically reject these claims and any claims made by Israeli authorities to justify attacks on hospital premises.”

Who were the journalists killed by the Israeli strikes?

The strike has drawn particular scrutiny because it claimed the lives of five journalists who had been documenting the war from inside Gaza.

Those killed were:

• Hussam al-Masri, a Reuters cameraman who had been contracted with the agency for the past year. He was operating a live camera feed from the hospital when he was killed in the first strike.

• Mariam Abu Dagga, a journalist who had contributed to The Associated Press and other outlets.

• Mohammed Salama, a cameraman for Al Jazeera.

• Moaz Abu Taha, a freelance photographer who worked with several organizations, including occasional contributions to Reuters.

• Ahmed Abu Aziz, a freelance contributor to Middle East Eye.

Reuters photographer Hatem Khaled, another contractor, was injured in the attack.

In a joint letter to Israeli officials, Reuters and the Associated Press demanded urgent clarity. “These journalists were present in their professional capacity, doing critical work bearing witness. Their work is especially vital in light of Israel’s nearly two-year ban on foreign journalists entering Gaza,” the letter said.

“We hope this probe will be quick, thorough and provide clear answers. These deaths demand urgent and transparent accountability.”

United Nations Human Rights Office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan strongly condemned the killings. “The killing of journalists in Gaza should shock the world,” he said. “Not into stunned silence but into action, demanding accountability and justice.”

The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that 189 Palestinian journalists have been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza over the past 22 months of fighting, making this one of the most dangerous conflicts for reporters in modern history.

Who else was killed in the hospital strikes?

Beyond the journalists, several health workers and first responders lost their lives in the strike. Among those identified were Jumaa al-Najjar, a health care worker at Nasser Hospital, and Imad al-Shaar, a driver for Gaza’s civil defence agency.

The civil defence service operates under the Hamas-run Interior Ministry, leading Israel in past cases to classify its staff as terrorists.

In March, 15 medics were killed when Israeli troops opened fire on ambulances in southern Gaza, prompting sharp criticism from human rights groups.

A hospital spokesperson reported that four additional health staff died in the Nasser Hospital strike. Gaza’s Civil Defence also confirmed the death of one of its crew members.

The International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian agencies have repeatedly warned that medical workers and ambulances are protected under the Geneva Conventions, regardless of the political authority under which they operate.

What does the wider toll in Gaza say?

The strike on Nasser Hospital occurred amid escalating violence across the Gaza Strip. On almost the same day, officials from Nasser Hospital, Shifa Hospital, and Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan Clinic reported that at least 35 Palestinians were killed in separate Israeli strikes.

Meanwhile, Gaza’s Health Ministry announced that three more adults had died of starvation-related causes that day, pushing the number of such fatalities to 186 since late June.

Among them were 117 children.

The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government but staffed by medical professionals, says the cumulative death toll from Israel’s offensive has reached 62,819, with about half being women and children.

The United Nations and independent experts cite these figures as the most reliable available, though Israel disputes them without providing alternative counts.

Is this a war on journalism & healthcare?

“Double tap” strikes — where a second attack follows closely after the first and hits rescuers or bystanders — have drawn widespread criticism in other war zones, including Syria and Ukraine.

Rights groups argue such tactics may constitute war crimes if they target civilians deliberately or recklessly.

The United Nations, press freedom groups, and humanitarian organisations have all demanded an independent and transparent investigation into the Nasser Hospital strike.

The deaths of five journalists in one attack have highlighted once more how perilous Gaza has become for those attempting to document its reality.

Since October 2023, Palestinian media workers have been killed at an unprecedented rate, while foreign reporters remain banned from entering the enclave.

Healthcare facilities and staff have also come under repeated assault. Israel has accused Hamas of embedding fighters and equipment in and around hospitals.

In some cases, security personnel from Hamas have been observed inside medical complexes. Yet direct evidence that hospitals themselves are being used as bases of operations has rarely been provided.

With inputs from agencies

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