Complaints to ICC allege senior Israeli leaders involved in Nasser Hospital massacre
Al-Khamisa News Network - Gaza
The Hind Rajab Foundation and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, in a joint investigation, revealed the full sequence of the Nasser Hospital massacre carried out by the Israeli army on August 25, 2024, and on Sunday said they had filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court.
The investigation said the Golani Brigade planned and coordinated the operation under continuous drone surveillance, while the 188th Armored Brigade carried out the attack using guided missiles.
The two organisations said senior Israeli leaders, headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “authorised and enabled” the attack, which they described as not an exchange of fire but an intentional killing operation with genocidal intent.
According to the investigation, Golani operators tracked the site precisely; Reuters photographer Hossam al-Masri’s camera was set up on the hospital stairs, the spot that was later targeted.
The first strike killed al-Masri and cut his live broadcast after nine minutes, followed by a second attack as journalists and rescue teams rushed to help the wounded, which the investigation described as a “deliberate decision to maximise casualties”.
The second strike, carried out by the 188th Brigade under Colonel Miki Sharvit, involved firing two LAHAT guided missiles from Merkava tanks at the same stairwell one second apart.
Forensic analysis of the debris showed the attack was not with conventional shells but with precision-guided missiles.
The investigation indicated that the 36th Armoured Division (Gaash), led by Brigadier General Moran Omer, was operationally responsible for the Golani Brigade and the 188th Brigade in Khan Younis; Omer made a field tour before the attack, and Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir visited the area and met commanders days before the massacre.
As the decision-maker on the rules of engagement, Zamir authorised the use of the “double-tap” method: an initial strike followed by a second bombardment after civilians had gathered.
The investigation stressed that the presence of drones over the hospital throughout the operation and the repeated precise targeting of the same location demonstrate that what occurred was deliberate killing and not “collateral damage”.
The organisations also said the massacre is part of a wider pattern of systematic targeting, noting that since October 2023 more than 270 journalists have been killed in Gaza, while 94% of the territory’s hospitals have been destroyed or damaged.
They said this policy aims to deprive Palestinians of the means to survive and to erase evidence of their suffering, which they argued is consistent with the crime of genocide.
The two organisations called on the International Criminal Court to open an investigation and issue arrest warrants covering Golani operators, tank commanders, the generals who approved the operation, and up to Netanyahu, who they say provided the political cover for the attack.
