JERUSALEM – International News told NBC News that Israeli forces killed so many journalists that Reuters no longer shared the location of its team in the Gaza Strip with the country's military.
A Reuters photographer who regularly broadcasts live on the roof of Nasser Hospital is one of five journalists in the 22 people killed in an Israeli attack on Monday.
“In the early days of the conflict, Reuters, like other news outlets, shared the location our team will use to make sure they don’t become targets [Israel Defense Forces]”A spokesperson for one of the world's largest news organizations, a London-based news agency, told NBC News later Wednesday.
This included sharing on “multiple occasions” about its journalist’s operation outside Nasser Hospital, where Arabic channel Al Ghad TV caught the strike in the video.
People mourn the body of journalist Moaz Abu Taha, who left and right photographer Hussam al-Masri, a Reuters contractor, died in an Israeli strike at Nasser Hospital on Monday.AFP via Getty Images
“Afterward, we no longer provide precise coordinates of the team after so many journalists died in strikes,” Reuters added.
In response to a request for comment to a Reuters statement, the IDF said, “No further comments besides the statement issued.” Shortly after the incident, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was “a tragic misfortune.”
The IDF claimed in a statement Tuesday that the initial investigation found that the troops had identified a camera in the hospital that was used to observe its troops “guid them to command terrorist activities.” It added: “The troops eliminate the threat by hitting and removing cameras.”
People gathered outside Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday after the Israeli strike.AFP via Getty Images
According to five journalists on the ground, there is only one camera on the top of the hospital – Reuters. Senior Hamas officials claim there is no camera in the area.
The Israeli military provided no evidence to prove that Hamas had run cameras on the roof of the hospital or addressed multiple strikes on the facility, adding that the investigation had been ordered to fall into “several gaps”, including the “authorization process” before the attack.
According to the internationally recognized committee on the protection of journalists, 197 journalists have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since they began less than two years ago, the deadliest conflict recorded by CPJ.
More details emerged about Israel's fatal attack on Nasser Hospital.
Initially, Monday's deadly Israeli strike appeared to be a “double-click” attack, in which the same target was quickly hit twice. Military analysts say the strategy is to wait for first responders to attend the first attack scene and then hit again.
However, NBC's news analysis of the newly obtained video found at least four Israeli ammunition was fired at the medical complex.
After Israel's first strike on the facility, the video showed two projectiles flying in the air, quickly hitting the fourth floor stairs in succession at 10:17 am local time.
Chris Cobb Smith, a weapon ammunition expert and war crime investigator who analyzed the video, said the projectile was obviously a missile.
The IDF did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the latest revelation.
Since Hamas on October 7, 2023, Israel has banned international media from entering Gaza, except for the occasional company of IDF.
Nasser Hospital Nursing Director Mohammed Saqer said Wednesday that the IDF should be aware that the area it targets the hospital is a hub for Palestinian journalists in the enclave.
“It's not a secret place. It's like a clear place, an obvious place. Everyone can see this place. Even the Israeli army, their own drones or through their own cameras, they can see Hussam and other journalists working from the fourth floor. So it's not a secret. He said, referring to Hussam al-Masri, a Reuters camera attack.
He added: “The IDF knows our numbers. Yes, sometimes they call us. So if the IDF had any objections to the existence of Hussam and other journalists on the third floor, I think they could have contacted us and we could have solved the problem.
Matteo Moschella and Matthew Mulligan contributed.