Israel Says Strikes on Hospital Were Targeting Hamas Camera

Two deadly Israeli strikes on a Gaza hospital that killed 20 people, including five journalists, were targeting what the military believed was a Hamas surveillance camera, as well as people identified as militants, the Israeli military said Tuesday. The military issued the statement as part of its initial inquiry into the Monday attack on Nasser Hospital, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier called a "tragic mishap," the AP reports. After the first strike, a "double-tap" strike seven minutes later killed medics and journalists who had rushed to the scene, reports NBC News.

• The military said the back-to-back strikes on southern Gaza's largest hospital were ordered because soldiers believed militants were using the camera to observe Israeli forces and because Israel has long believed Hamas and other militant groups are present at hospitals. The military's chief of general staff acknowledged several "gaps" in the investigation so far, including the kind of ammunition used to take out the camera.

• The initial investigation's findings emerged Tuesday as a surge of outrage and unanswered questions mounted. International leaders and rights groups condemned the strikes, with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office calling the attack "horrific" and "completely indefensible," the BBC reports. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called for an independent inquiry and President Trump said he was "not happy" about the strikes, reports NBC.
• Earlier Tuesday, protesters in Israel torched tires, blocked highways, and clamored for a ceasefire that would free hostages still in Gaza, even as Israeli leaders moved forward with plans for an offensive which they argue is needed to defeat Hamas.

• The strike, among the deadliest of the war against both journalists and hospitals, sparked shock and outrage among press freedom advocates and Palestinians, who mourned the dead at funerals on Monday.
• Most of those killed died after rushing to the scene of the first blast, only to be hit by a second strike—an attack captured on television by several networks.
• Mariam Dagga, who worked for the AP, was among the journalists killed in the strikes. The 33-year-old had not seen her 13-year-old son since he was evacuated to the UAE around 18 months ago, the Guardian reports. "She longed to see and embrace her son again," her friend Samaheer Farhan says. "Mariam died with that dream still unfulfilled, to hold her child once more." Journalists from Reuters and Al Jazeera were also killed.