There has been widespread international outrage at Israel’s attack on Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, northern Gaza, on August 25. The attack took the form of a “double tap” strike. The first attack killed at least one person, then – as medics, journalists and other responders rushed to the scene – a second attack on the same location killed another 20 people. This included five journalists and several medical staff treating people injured in the first attack.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has called the incident a “tragic mishap”. But whether or not the attacks on the hospital were intentionally directed, the double tap tactic almost certainly falls under those acts of war prohibited by the law of armed conflict and could constitute a war crime on that basis alone.
Whether or not charges specifically relating to the attacks on Nasser Hospital are ever brought, it’s an opportunity to examine how international law operates in situations like this.
