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LAST UPDATE | 26 Aug
HAMAS HAS REJECTED the Israeli military’s claim that it targeted a camera operated by the Palestinian group when it launched consecutive strikes at a hospital in Gaza yesterday, calling it “baseless”.
Israel struck the Nasser hospital twice in quick succession, known as a double tap strike, which usually leads to the deaths of first responders, as it did yesterday morning.
The strikes killed 20 people, including five journalists.
Israel “attempted to justify this crime by fabricating a false claim that it had targeted a ‘camera’ belonging to resistance elements – an allegation that is baseless, lacking any evidence, and merely aimed at evading legal and moral responsibility for a full-fledged massacre,” Hamas said in a statement this evening.
Earlier today, the Israeli military (IDF) said its troops had “identified a camera that was positioned by Hamas in the area of the Nasser Hospital that was being used to observe the activity of IDF troops, in order to direct terrorist activities against them”.
The statement did not substantiate the claim with any evidence. There was, however, a camera operated by the Reuters news agency at the part of the hospital that was struck.
Reuters cameraman Hussam al-Masri was among those killed yesterday.
The Israeli military further claimed that Nasser hospital has been used by Hamas to carry out “terrorist activities”, and that yesterday’s attack killed six “terrorists”.
Israel has repeatedly claimed that Hamas has operated from healthcare facilities in Gaza throughout the war on the territory, despite contradictions from medical staff and a failure to provide credible evidence for its claims.
The military’s statement added that the head of the armed forces has ordered a full inquiry into the attack now proceed, which would include “an examination of the decision-making process in the field”.
Also today, the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) condemned Israel’s killing of journalists at Nasser hospital and demanded the country halt its “war on truth”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the back-to-back strikes as a “mishap”.
The attack “underlines the need for global action to end the Israeli government’s war on journalism and truth”, the NUJ said today.
“The Geneva Convention requires countries to respect all civilians and civilian institutions, including hospitals. Media installations are also protected under international law,” said NUJ general secretary Laura Davidson.
“Those of us who have witnessed the previous targeting of journalists are extremely reluctant to accept the description of the Nasser hospital attack as a ‘mishap’,” she said.
NUJ assistant general secretary Séamus Dooley said the Israeli military’s record contradiscts its claims that it does not target journalists.
The war on Gaza is the deadliest conflict for journalists ever recorded. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) puts the media worker death toll in Gaza since October 2023 at 197, while the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has recorded at least 219 Palestinian journalists and media workers killed.
“We need global action to end this war on truth and that includes an investigation into the targeting of journalists,” Dooley said.
“The attempt to tarnish the reputation of journalists in these killings has been nauseating while little attention has been afforded to other civilians killed, often unnamed and forgotten.”
The NUJ joined other media representative bodies in calling on Israel to allow foreign media to enter Gaza.
The EU’s diplomatic arm, the European External Action Service (EEAS), said today that Israel’s killing of 20 people, including healthcare workers and journalists, at Nasser hospital in Gaza yesterday was “completely unacceptable”.
The statement also called on Israel “to respect international humanitarian law and to ensure that these attacks are investigated”.
A review of the EU-Israeli partnership agreement earlier this year found that Israel had violated its human rights clauses, but EU foreign ministers failed to agree to take any measures against Israel.
“There have been too many fatalities in this conflict,” the statement said.
“The EU stands in solidarity with the families of the victims, with the journalistic community, and with all civilians in Gaza who continue to pay the highest price.”
EU leaders have been heavily criticised for the bloc’s inaction in the face of repeated atrocities carried out by Israel in Gaza, where famine has officially been declared as a result of its siege on the Palestinian territory.
Earlier today, more than 200 former EU and member state ambassadors, as well as senior staff, have signed a new letter calling for the immediate implementation of EU measures against Israel’s unlawful actions in Gaza and the West Bank.
A previous letter, signed by 58 former EU ambassadors in July, had made similar demands. Today’s letter noted that the EU has not taken action in the time since then and the humanitarian situation in Gaza has drastically worsened, with the declaration of a man-made famine due to Israel’s blocking of aid into the territory.
It noted that estimates suggest that more than 2,600 Palestinians have been killed by Israel in the time since.
It also referenced Israel’s stated plans to build 3,400 housing units in the West Bank, which would sabotage the EU’s backed two-state solution.
The letter, addressed to EU heads of state and government and foreign ministers, as well as the presidents of the European Council, Commission, and Parliament, among others, noted the collective’s alarm at the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the EU’s lack of action in taking sanctioning Israel.
The letter listed nine actions it is calling on the EU to take – in addition to nine actions it listed in the previous open letter from 28 July:
1. Unilaterally suspending or revoking arms export licenses to Israel;
2. Stopping the funding of national co-financed projects involving Israeli entities or withdrawing from joint research agreements with Israeli institutions and research bodies – where there is plausible evidence that such funding supports actions illegal under international law;
3. Directing public universities and other entities to cease collaboration with Israeli entities suspected of being involved in atrocity crimes;
4. Enforcing their own national sanctions’ regimes on human rights grounds and counter-terrorism laws, including visa bans and asset freezes;
5. Prohibiting trade in goods and services with illegal settlements – in Ireland’s case, enacting the Occupied Territories Bill, including services;
6. Divesting from and excluding illegal settlement linked companies from public procurement, state investment and sovereign wealth funds;
7. Banning port calls or use of airspace for Israeli military vessels and aircraft, as well as transit stops for any vessels / aircraft transporting military equipment and munitions to Israel;
8. Prosecuting indicted Israeli and Palestinian war criminals if they enter their territory, or in some cases even in absentia for Member States that have universal jurisdiction provisions;
9. Prohibiting data centres and platforms based in Europe from receiving, storing or treating data originating from Israeli government or commercial sources relating to the Israeli government’s presence and activities in Gaza and elsewhere in the occupied territories.
A vital, unprecedented intervention. The time for collective EU action is long overdue. There are clear, concrete measures the EU can take. If we don’t take collective action now against the backdrop of famine, when will we? Collective EU action could make a powerful difference https://t.co/hq9qxalcz5
— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) August 26, 2025
Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Harris reacted to the letter in a post to X, where he described it as a “vital, unprecedented intervention” that was long overdue.
The Tánaiste said that are “clear, concrete measures the EU can take” – “If we don’t take collective action now against the backdrop of famine, when will we? Collective EU action could make a powerful difference”.
Harris is to meet with EU foreign minister in Copenhagen this week, where he said he looks forward to discussing “this directly with counterparts”.
“We express our profound disappointment that, in response to the deteriorating situation in Gaza, no substantive measures have been taken by the EU to press Israel to end its brutal war,” the letter said.
It said that current EU staff members, states and institutions “claiming to support human rights and uphold international law must lead by example with action – not just with words.”
With reporting from David Mac Redmond
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