In brief
A recent investigation by BBC Verify has confirmed that Israel targeted Nasser Hospital in Gaza multiple times, highlighting a sequence of four strikes that led to significant casualties, including the deaths of journalists. The findings challenge initial claims of two strikes and raise concerns over potential violations of international law regarding civilian safety.
Israel struck Nasser Hospital at least four times during its deadly attack in southern Gaza on Monday, an analysis of new video footage by BBC Verify has found.
The attack, which has attracted international condemnation and widespread anger, reportedly killed at least 20 people, including five journalists.
Initial reports from Gaza said that Israel had struck the hospital twice, with the first blast followed nine minutes later by another which hit first responders and journalists who arrived at the scene.
However, new analysis suggests the hospital was struck four times in total. BBC Verify and expert analysis found that two staircases were hit almost simultaneously in the first wave, and while what was thought to be a single later attack was in fact two separate strikes hitting the same place within a fraction of a second.
Israel does not allow international journalists to enter Gaza independently. BBC Verify identified the additional strikes by analysing dozens of videos provided by a freelancer on the ground and material filmed by eyewitnesses that circulated online.
In the first incident, an Israeli strike hit the exterior staircase on the hospital's eastern side at 10:08 local time, killing journalist Hussam Al-Masri who was operating a live TV feed for Reuters.
BBC Verify has now identified another previously unreported blast at a northern wing staircase at practically the same time, which was overshadowed by the 'double-tap' strike on the eastern staircase.
New footage shows smoke rising and damage at both staircases, while emergency workers said the hospital's operating department was hit.
Other videos show an injured person being carried down the northern staircase and the hospital's nursing director holding shredded and bloodied clothing which he said was being worn by a nurse while she was working in the operating department when it was hit.
Roughly nine minutes later, while dozens of first responders and journalists gathered on the eastern staircase, Israeli forces struck the facility again.
Frame-by-frame analysis of newly emerged footage clearly shows that two separate projectiles fired by Israeli forces hit the hospital milliseconds apart at an exposed stairwell where journalists and emergency workers had gathered.
Experts disagreed on the type of munition used in the third and fourth strikes, but some analysts identified them as Lahat missiles, a guided munition which can be fired from tanks, drones, and helicopters.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had no additional comment on the newly identified blasts when approached by BBC Verify. The IDF has not yet acknowledged carrying out more than one strike on the hospital, amid allegations from some international legal experts that it may have violated international law.
At least 247 journalists have been killed in Gaza since 7 October 2023, according to the UN, making it the deadliest conflict for reporters ever documented.
Israel's military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed.
Almost 62,900 people have been killed in Gaza during the same period, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
