The bombing of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis has once again revealed the calculated nature of the war in Gaza. More than twenty people were killed in a double strike, among them five journalists working with major international outlets, medical staff, and civilians who had sought safety within the hospital’s walls. The deliberate targeting of a protected facility, followed by a second attack on those rushing to save the wounded, has been described as one of the clearest war crimes committed to date.

The so-called “double strike” tactic, hitting a site once, then striking again as rescuers and reporters converge, has become a chilling hallmark of this war. By targeting hospitals, medics, and journalists in a single operation, the message is unmistakable: those who heal, those who rescue, and those who bear witness are themselves marked for death. Reports confirm that dozens of first responders have been killed in similar follow-up attacks in recent months, a systematic policy that has transformed rescue missions into death traps.

The massacre also underscores the broader war on the press. With over 225 journalists killed since the start of the aggression, Gaza has become the most dangerous place on earth for media workers. The deaths of well-known correspondents, including those previously threatened directly by the army, reveal a deliberate intent to silence voices documenting the destruction. As one humanitarian coordinator said after the killing of journalist Mariam Daqqa, “the truth itself is being buried under the rubble.”

International condemnation has followed, yet it remains largely rhetorical. While officials decry attacks on hospitals and the press, no meaningful protection has been offered to those still on the ground. For many in Gaza, the massacre at Nasser is not only the destruction of a hospital, but a stark warning that every witness to this war, whether a doctor, a rescuer, or a journalist, may be erased. The strike targeted lives and testimony alike, leaving the world to ask how long such crimes will be met with silence.