World Condemns Israeli Massacre at Gaza’s Nasser Hospital
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Israel’s latest assault on Gaza has provoked global outrage after its forces struck Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, killing at least 21 people, including five journalists and medical workers.
The attack, widely denounced as a barbaric war crime, was condemned by countries including Canada, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Qatar, and Kuwait.
Humanitarian groups such as Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and the Foreign Press Association described the strikes as “outrageous” and “shocking.”
MSF said its staff were forced to shelter in hospital laboratories as Israel repeatedly bombed the building, which had been one of the few partially functioning public hospitals in southern Gaza.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), said Israel’s assault amounted to “silencing the last remaining voices reporting about children dying silently amid famine.”
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned the killings and demanded that medical staff and journalists be protected “at all times” from intimidation and harm.
He also called for an impartial investigation, though past Israeli military probes into civilian massacres have consistently led to no accountability.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate denounced the strike as a “heinous massacre perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces” deliberately targeting press crews.
The Gaza Health Ministry confirmed that Israel launched two airstrikes on the emergency building’s upper floors, with the second strike deliberately timed as rescue workers rushed to aid the wounded — a method known as a “double-tap” strike.
The Belgium-based Hind Rajab Foundation, a legal advocacy group, rejected Israel’s claim of a tank mishap and said its analysis showed the use of a precision-guided missile, proving Israeli forces knew they were targeting medics, civil defense teams, and journalists.
“This was a deliberate double-tap war crime, not an accident,” the group declared, vowing to include the evidence in a forthcoming legal case.
Among the victims was Abu Dagga, 33, a freelance journalist for the Associated Press.
In a separate Israeli attack the same day, journalist Hassan Douhan was shot dead by occupation forces in Khan Younis, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate.
The massacre raised the toll of journalists killed in Gaza since October 2023 to at least 245, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office.
Observers say the pattern of repeated, targeted attacks against the press and medical teams reveals a deliberate Israeli strategy to suppress witnesses and terrorize civilians under siege.
