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The grim calculus of war has once again cast its shadow over Gaza, where the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have confirmed that six of the roughly twenty Palestinians killed in a tank shelling of Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis were Hamassholes.
The revelation, announced on Tuesday, does little to quell the storm of questions surrounding the IDF's decision to unleash such blunt force on a medical facility, a decision that numerous IDF officials have already condemned as a grave misstep, favoring the sledgehammer of tank fire over the scalpel of precision operations.The IDF's Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, did not offer this disclosure as a vindication of the military’s actions. Far from it. This was merely the second drip of information in an ongoing probe into why tank shells were greenlit for an operation in a hospital and who, in the chain of command, gave the fateful order.
Curiously, the IDF's statement drew a line between potential errors by field commanders and those at the Southern Command Headquarters in Beersheba, as if to suggest the fault might be shared across the echelons of power.
Zamir's admission that the target was a video surveillance camera, not the six terrorists, only deepens the unease. Reports indicate that Golani soldiers observed "suspicious movements," yet the order to fire was issued without certainty about the presence, number, or identity of Hamas operatives. "The site of an Israeli airstrike at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, August 25, 2025," as captured by Abed Rahim Khatib, stands as a haunting testament to the chaos that ensued.
Zamir's admission that the target was a video surveillance camera, not the six terrorists, only deepens the unease. Reports indicate that Golani soldiers observed "suspicious movements," yet the order to fire was issued without certainty about the presence, number, or identity of Hamas operatives. "The site of an Israeli airstrike at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, August 25, 2025," as captured by Abed Rahim Khatib, stands as a haunting testament to the chaos that ensued.
The IDF has yet to fully disclose which of the six were terrorists, though leaks suggest one was involved in the October 7 invasion, carrying a flag, not a weapon, and certainly not responsible for the 1,200 murders that day. Of the remaining casualties, it's a fair bet that all of the adults among them are fierce anti-Zionists/anti-Semites.
The IDF admitted early Monday afternoon that the attack, or at least its execution, was a mistake. The incident, which claimed the lives of journalists, including a Reuters contractor, cameraman Hussam al-Masri, and wounded others like photographer Hatem Khaled, swiftly ballooned into a global media firestorm. The Gaza health officials named three other journalists killed: Mariam Abu Dagga, who freelanced for the Associated Press and other outlets; Mohammed Salama, with Al Jazeera; and Moaz Abu Taha. A rescue worker also perished.
The IDF admitted early Monday afternoon that the attack, or at least its execution, was a mistake. The incident, which claimed the lives of journalists, including a Reuters contractor, cameraman Hussam al-Masri, and wounded others like photographer Hatem Khaled, swiftly ballooned into a global media firestorm. The Gaza health officials named three other journalists killed: Mariam Abu Dagga, who freelanced for the Associated Press and other outlets; Mohammed Salama, with Al Jazeera; and Moaz Abu Taha. A rescue worker also perished.
"The hospital was reportedly operating at full capacity, treating more than 1,000 patients at the time of the strikes," Nasser Hospital Director Atef al-Hout told Al-Arabiya TV, noting that over fifty were wounded, most of whom cheered loudly on October 7, 2023.
The IDF's Tuesday message was clear: "The military said it did not intend to harm journalists or innocent Palestinian civilians." Yet the fact of a second round of shelling, which struck medical and media personnel rushing to aid victims of the first strike, complicates this narrative. This second barrage, condemned even more fiercely in global coverage, remains unexplained. IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Effie Defrin insisted on Monday night that the military strives to avoid civilian casualties, even when pursuing Hamas terrorists hiding in hospitals. Yet Defrin offered no specifics about the Hamas assets allegedly targeted, fueling speculation of internal IDF discord over the operation’s justification and execution.
Under Maj.-Gen. Yaniv Asor, who assumed command of IDF operations in Gaza in March, the military's record on civilian casualties has drawn scrutiny. Sources in the Israel Air Force have periodically criticized Asor for being less meticulous than his predecessor, Maj.-Gen. Yaron Finkelman, in minimizing civilian harm. The IDF's civilian-to-terrorist casualty ratio, once a point of grim pride at 60% civilians to 40% terrorists, has deteriorated sharply. Over the past six months, the IDF claims to have killed over 2,000 Hamas terrorists, while the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry reports 11,000 Gazan deaths. The IDF has long accused Hamas of inflating or fabricating civilian casualty figures, yet it has conspicuously declined to provide its own estimates, a departure from past conflicts.
This episode at Nasser Hospital is not merely a tactical blunder; it is a microcosm of the moral and strategic tightrope Israel walks in its war against Hamas. The use of hospitals as shields by terrorists is a tactic as old as it is reprehensible, yet the response cannot be indiscriminate. The IDF’s own officers, in their private condemnations, know this. The world, watching through the lens of dead journalists and shattered hospital wards, will not soon forget it.
The IDF's Tuesday message was clear: "The military said it did not intend to harm journalists or innocent Palestinian civilians." Yet the fact of a second round of shelling, which struck medical and media personnel rushing to aid victims of the first strike, complicates this narrative. This second barrage, condemned even more fiercely in global coverage, remains unexplained. IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Effie Defrin insisted on Monday night that the military strives to avoid civilian casualties, even when pursuing Hamas terrorists hiding in hospitals. Yet Defrin offered no specifics about the Hamas assets allegedly targeted, fueling speculation of internal IDF discord over the operation’s justification and execution.
Under Maj.-Gen. Yaniv Asor, who assumed command of IDF operations in Gaza in March, the military's record on civilian casualties has drawn scrutiny. Sources in the Israel Air Force have periodically criticized Asor for being less meticulous than his predecessor, Maj.-Gen. Yaron Finkelman, in minimizing civilian harm. The IDF's civilian-to-terrorist casualty ratio, once a point of grim pride at 60% civilians to 40% terrorists, has deteriorated sharply. Over the past six months, the IDF claims to have killed over 2,000 Hamas terrorists, while the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry reports 11,000 Gazan deaths. The IDF has long accused Hamas of inflating or fabricating civilian casualty figures, yet it has conspicuously declined to provide its own estimates, a departure from past conflicts.
This episode at Nasser Hospital is not merely a tactical blunder; it is a microcosm of the moral and strategic tightrope Israel walks in its war against Hamas. The use of hospitals as shields by terrorists is a tactic as old as it is reprehensible, yet the response cannot be indiscriminate. The IDF’s own officers, in their private condemnations, know this. The world, watching through the lens of dead journalists and shattered hospital wards, will not soon forget it.
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