Israel carried out 3 strikes, not two, on Khan Younis hospital: CNN

New video footage reveals that the second salvo of strikes by the Israeli army on the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on Monday actually consisted of two consecutive shots, CNN reported Thursday, August 28.

The bombings, which were filmed live and triggered outrage from the international community, killed at least 22 people, including five journalists and rescuers.

The so-called "double tap" tactic, or "double strike," consists of conducting two successive strikes in quick succession. In the case of those targeting Nasser Hospital, the second strike of this "double tap" also appears to have consisted of two distinct shots. According to CNN's information, it was these last two strikes — the ones that hit a group of rescuers and other journalists who had arrived at the scene after the first strike — that caused the largest number of casualties.

Among the victims of this triple strike, who were at or near the site of the impact, were Mariam Abou Dagga (Associated Press, Independent Arabia), Mohammad Salama (Al-Jazeera, Middle East Eye), Moaz Abou Taha (NBC, Haaretz, Reuters), and Ahmad Abou Aziz (Middle East Eye, Quds Feed), the latter of whom later died from his injuries.

In the face of the international outcry, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was compelled to express regret, describing it as a "tragic accident" and assuring that a military investigation was underway to determine the circumstances.

The use of a double strike recalls the methods of Bashar al-Assad's regime during the Syrian civil war, of the Russian army in Syria and Ukraine and of the Taliban in Afghanistan, all of whom have used it to maximize the number of victims and deter rescuers from rushing to evacuate the wounded. Such practices may amount to war crimes. At the end of July, Israeli news websites +972 and Local Call revealed that the Israeli army "regularly" carried out such strikes — an assertion the army has denied.