One Year After Gaza Hospital Strike, Accountability Remains Unclear
A year after Israeli forces hit Nasser Hospital in Gaza, killing 22 Palestinians including journalists, no investigation results have been released and questions persist about the military’s justification.
It has been twelve months since Israeli troops fired on Nasser Hospital in Gaza, killing 22 Palestinians, among them Reuters cameraman Hussam al-Masri and visual journalist Mariam Dagga. The Israeli military said the target was a suspected Hamas-linked camera on the hospital roof, but it has not provided evidence or a timeline for an investigation.
The army indicated that six of those killed were alleged to have ties to Hamas, yet an anonymous soldier who participated in the operation told Breaking the Silence that no link between the camera and Hamas was found and that none of the six were the intended targets. The soldier said the initial plan to use a precision drone failed, after which tank shells were employed, causing a second strike that killed most of the victims.
The Israeli military has declined to comment on details while the case is under review, stating that findings will be forwarded to the Military Advocate General’s Corps for a decision on whether to open a criminal probe. Rights groups note that past investigations of similar incidents have rarely led to prosecutions.
"When journalists can be killed without credible accountability, it becomes harder and more dangerous for the press to document conflicts and for the public to know what is happening," said Sara Qudah, regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at the Committee to Protect Journalists.
"Unfortunately, we found that the blood of journalists in Gaza is cheap … as if the rules protecting journalists do not apply," said Ezz al-Din al-Masri, brother of the slain Reuters cameraman.
AP and Reuters issued a joint statement urging Israel to provide a full explanation and to allow journalists access to Gaza. The statement added that the families of the victims remain devastated and are still seeking answers.
The incident has revived criticism of Israel’s practice of retroactively labeling deceased Palestinians as militants, a process described by Breaking the Silence as a “near automatic justification for every bullet, shell or missile fired.” The organization’s executive director, Nadav Weiman, said the practice undermines genuine investigations.
The broader context includes reports that Israeli forces have killed more than 200 Palestinian journalists since the conflict began in October 2023, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.