This is an adapted excerpt from the Aug. 26 episode of “All In with Chris Hayes.”
Every day, horror stories are emerging from Israel’s seemingly endless bombardment of the Gaza Strip, but it is not so often you get to actually see those moments.
On Monday, shortly after 10 a.m., Israel bombed the last remaining medical center in southern Gaza, Nasser Hospital. Then, seven minutes later, as first responders, medics and journalists were rushing to the site, it struck the hospital again. It is what is called a “double-tap” strike: the same target hit twice in quick succession.
The Arabic language channel Al Ghad captured video of the moment the second strike hit. People can be seen climbing the exterior staircase of the hospital, where journalists frequently go to get a Wi-Fi signal. Within seconds, a thick cloud of smoke and dust engulfed them.
At least 20 people were killed in the strike, including five journalists.
Hussam al-Masri worked as a cameraman for Reuters. He was killed in the first strike on the hospital while operating a live TV feed for Reuters.
Mariam Dagga, one of the few female journalists covering the siege in Gaza, was also killed. She was a freelancer for The Associated Press and other news outlets and frequently reported from Nasser Hospital on children being treated for starvation.
Mohammad Salama worked for Al Jazeera and Middle East Eye and had been planning his wedding to another journalist.
Ahmed Abu Aziz was also with Middle East Eye and had contributed dozens of reports to the outlet. Moaz Abu Taha was a freelance journalist who worked with several outlets, including the Israeli newspaper Haaretz and Reuters. All three were also killed in the strike. On Tuesday, the Israeli military issued a statement stating it had targeted a camera at the hospital that it claims was being used by Hamas for surveillance. It did not provide any evidence to back the assertion. On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the strikes a “tragic mishap.” Since the war started, Israel has not allowed foreign press to freely operate in Gaza. So the only eyes and ears we have on the ground are the brave Palestinian journalists contracted to work for various news outlets. And every day they are out there, literally putting their lives on the line to get their reporting out.
Chris Hayes hosts “All In with Chris Hayes” at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday through Friday on MS NOW. He is the editor-at-large at The Nation. A former fellow at Harvard University’s Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics, Hayes was a Bernard Schwartz Fellow at the New America Foundation. His latest book is “The Sirens’ Call: How Attention Became the World’s Most Endangered Resource” (Penguin Press).
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW.
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