The United Nations has officially said that “there needs to be justice” following Israel’s double strike on a Gaza hospital that killed at least 20 people, as an Israeli military probe says that the strike had targeted “a camera positioned by Hamas.” In the later hours of Tuesday, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) released an initial enquiry which identified several ‘gaps’ for further investigation. This is after Israelis launched a nationwide protest, calling out their government and supporting the deal that releases the hostages.

Even the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the attack, whose victims included five journalists and four health workers, describing it as “completely indefensible.”

The attack on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis killed a Reuters cameraman who was operating a live TV feed from a staircase on the side of the hospital. The second strike, on the same day and in the same location about 10 minutes later, hit journalists and rescuers. These strikes killed at least 20 people. The journalists killed worked for international media outlets, including the Associated Press, Reuters, Al Jazeera, and Middle East Eye.

“This is a shock, and this is unacceptable,” said the United Nations human rights office spokesperson Thaameen al-Kheetan on Tuesday. “This raises many, many questions about the targeting of journalists and all of these incidents must absolutely be investigated and those responsible must be held accountable… These investigations need to yield results, there needs to be justice. We haven’t seen results or accountability measures yet.”

IDF’s Investigation

Countering the narrative, the Israeli Defense Force said it identified a camera positioned by Hamas in the area of the hospital that was allegedly being used to observe the activity of IDF troops. The investigative report, however, does not provide any evidence to back this claim.

“The true operation was to remove the threat by striking and dismantling the camera,” said the statement, which also alleged that six of those killed were terrorists.

This report by the IDF did not explain why a second attack was launched minutes after the first one. Instead, it called for further investigation into the authorisation process, including the ammunition used and the military decision-making process in the field.

This is not the first attack on a hospital, as Israel has repeatedly targeted hospitals in Gaza despite them being protected under international law. Currently, in Israel, protesters have blocked highways with burning tyres and held demonstrations in Tel Aviv and other cities, demanding the government agree to a ceasefire deal to return the remaining hostages held by Hamas and end the war completely. However, the Israeli government has been dismissing the ceasefire proposal so far—the same proposal already agreed by Hamas.

The government wants a different deal that would see all hostages released in one exchange. Israel also believes that only 20 to 50 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza are still alive after 22 months of war.

Israel’s Nationwide Protest

“Israelis are standing against Netanyahu and his regime… Another day for protest, another day to make sure the issue of the hostages stays a high priority, another day to pressure Netanyahu and force him to end the war and get a hostage deal,” said Yehuda Cohen, the father of one of the hostages in the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023. The person spoke to international media discussing their protest against the government.

Likewise, in Jerusalem, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the Prime Minister’s office, where a security cabinet meeting was taking place.

Internationally as well, Qatar, one of the mediators involved in the ceasefire deal, says that they are still waiting for an answer from Israel to the latest proposal. “The responsibility now lies on Israel to respond to the offer that is on the table. Anything else is political posturing…” said the Foreign Minister to international media.

On Tuesday, Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said that the bodies of 75 Palestinians had arrived at their facility over the previous 24 hours. A UN-backed body has confirmed the famine situation in Gaza City and the surrounding area. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) says that more than half a million people across Gaza are facing catastrophic starvation, destitution, and conditions of death. Till now, at least 62,819 people have been killed in Gaza according to the territory’s own health ministry.

Israel is responding militarily by launching a campaign to invade Gaza City in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 people taken as hostages.