MPs have urged Britain to “take the strongest measures” against the Israeli government in the wake of an investigation by The Independent into the killing of journalists, first responders and medics in a double-tap attack on one of the last functioning hospitals in Gaza. They want Downing Street to increase sanctions and cease all trade with Israel rather than “accept weak justifications” for apparent war crimes and breaches of international humanitarian law. It follows revelations by this publication along with Independent Arabia into the 25 August, 2025 incident that killed Gaza correspondent Mariam Abu Dagga and at least 19 others.
The investigation and reconstruction was based on 17 eyewitness accounts as well as the testimony of two Israeli whistleblowers, three weapons experts and international law experts. Mariam was one of more than 20 people, including five journalists, killed by Israeli tank fire as she rushed to report on an earlier strike. The initial attack had taken place just eight minutes beforehand, killing cameraman Hussam al-Masri as he manned his live position at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis.
The Independent and Independent Arabia’s investigation and reconstruction uncovered evidence that, according to international law experts, would point to the war crimes of intentionally attacking civilians and of launching a disproportionate attack, particularly with regard to the second attack. The Israeli military said at the time it “regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals” and that it “does not target journalists as such”. It later claimed the Golani Brigade, one of Israel’s elite infantry brigades, identified a camera “that was positioned by Hamas” to observe troops and identified six “terrorists” who were killed in the attack.
The Israeli military has repeatedly denied committing any war crimes in Gaza. But the investigation shows the camera in question was the live feed, placed on the fourth floor of an external stairwell that hundreds of journalists, including Mariam, regularly used to take videos, report live and access internet and mobile phone connections. Mariam herself took a photo of the camera in the weeks before the attack, with Hussam al-Masri, and appeared in apparent Israeli military surveillance footage three days before.
The investigation found the military did not contact the hospital about the issue they had with the camera, despite having staffers’ phone numbers, or warn them of impending strikes, which they are obliged to do according to international law experts spoken to byThe Independent. The investigation further found that in the first round of strikes there were likely two tank projectiles, one of which killed Hussam al-Masri, and destroyed his camera on the eastern stairwell. Another hit an entirely different area within the hospital, near the operating theatre, called the “Titanic” where medics would rest.
Eight minutes later as journalists, medics, first responders and displaced civilians gathered on the stairwell to help and report – in full view of live-streamed cameras – two more tank projectiles were fired, killing more than 20 people. Seven eyewitnesses we spoke to also reported seeing Israeli surveillance drones closely monitoring that stairwell and the activity of first responders between the attacks. The Independent identified two of the six people labelled as “terrorists” killed in the attack as actually being a hospital worker and a member of the civil defence assisting in the rescue operation.
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