Double-tap strike

{{Short description|Bombing the same location a second time}} {{Other uses|Double tap (disambiguation)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2025}}

A '''double tap,''' or '''double-tap,''' is the practice of following a strike (be it bombardment such as missile strike, air strike, artillery shelling, or detonation of explosive weapon or improvised explosive device) with a deliberately timed second strike in the same place several minutes later, usually in an attempt to maximize the casualties of an attack. A '''triple tap''' refers to an additional third strike which follows the second strike. The term is usually associated with instances where emergency responders and medical personnel rushing to the site hit by the first strike are hit by the second strike.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Double Tap Strikes: Deliberate Attacks on First Responders in Syria and Yemen – Defenders for Medical Impartiality |url=https://defendmedicalimpartiality.org/?p=2126 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810180955/https://defendmedicalimpartiality.org/?p=2126 |archive-date=10 August 2018 |access-date=10 August 2018 |website=defendmedicalimpartiality.org |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Woods |first1=Chris |last2=Yusufzai |first2=Mushtaq |date=1 August 2013 |title=Drone strikes in Pakistan -- Get the Data: The return of double-tap drone strikes |url=https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2013/08/01/get-the-data-the-return-of-double-tap-drone-strikes/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150807011637/https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2013/08/01/get-the-data-the-return-of-double-tap-drone-strikes/ |archive-date=7 August 2015 |access-date=24 August 2015 |agency=The Bureau of Investigative Journalism}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Thompson |first=Julian |last2=Rehn |first2=Marius |last3=Lossius |first3=Hans Morten |last4=Lockey |first4=David |date=24 September 2014 |title=Risks to emergency medical responders at terrorist incidents: a narrative review of the medical literature |journal=Critical Care |volume=18 |issue=5 |page=521 |doi=10.1186/s13054-014-0521-1 |pmc=4422304 |pmid=25323086 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gips |first=Michael A. |date=July 2003 |title=Secondary Devices a Primary Concern |url=https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/secondary-devices-primary-concern |journal=Security Management |volume=47 |issue=7 |pages=16, 18, 20 |oclc=4769515160 |access-date=9 August 2023 |via=Office of Justice Programs}}</ref> A '''quadruple tap''' refers to a sequence of four strikes, where three subsequent waves follow an initial attack in the same location to target those who gather at the site.<ref name="QuadrupleTap">{{cite web |last1=Christou |first1=William |title=Israel escalates attacks on medics in Lebanon with deadly ‘quadruple tap’ |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/16/israel-escalates-attacks-on-medics-in-lebanon-with-deadly-quadruple-tap |website=The Guardian |access-date=22 April 2026 |date=16 April 2026}}</ref>

A ''Florida Law Review'' article defines the practice as strikes separated by five to twenty minutes, stating that the practice likely is a war crime and arguing that it violates the Geneva Conventions of 1949, which prohibit targeting civilians, the wounded, and those no longer able to continue fighting.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Alexander |first=Samuel |date=21 February 2018 |title=Double-Tap Warfare: Should President Obama Be Investigated for War Crimes? |url=https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/flr/vol69/iss1/7 |journal=Florida Law Review |volume=69 |issue=1 |page=261 |issn=1045-4241}}</ref>

==Examples== The use of double-tap strikes by coalition forces during the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) sparked debate due to the possibility of non-combatants, including medical personnel, being among those responding to the first strike and therefore being hit by the second strike.{{sfn |Grieco |Ikenberry |Mastanduno |2022 |pp=303−304}} Double-tap strikes have been used by Saudi Arabia during its military intervention in Yemen,<ref>{{cite web |last=Dehghan |first=Saeed |date=16 September 2016 |title='After an hour the plane came back': repeated airstrikes take toll on Yemeni civilians |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/16/repeated-airstrikes-take-toll-on-yemeni-civilians |website=theguardian.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=12 October 2016 |title=The Human Rights Abuses in Yemen's 'Forgotten War' |url=https://time.com/4528393/yemen-saudi-arabia-strike-wedding/ |access-date=8 August 2023 |magazine=Time |language=en}}</ref> by the United States in Iran, Pakistan, Yemen, and the Gulf of Mexico,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Norton |first1=Alex |last2=Nakashima |first2=Ellen |date=28 November 2025 |title=Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/11/28/hegseth-kill-them-all-survivors-boat-strike/ |access-date=28 November 2025 |work=Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Taylor |first=Jerome |date=25 September 2012 |title=Outrage at CIA's deadly 'double tap' drone |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/outrage-at-cias-deadly-double-tap-drone-attacks-8174771.html |access-date=25 May 2013 |publisher=Independent |location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Friedersdorf |first=Conor |date=24 October 2013 |title=Drone Attacks at Funerals of People Killed in Drone Strikes |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/10/drone-attacks-at-funerals-of-people-killed-in-drone-strikes/280821/ |access-date=29 April 2019 |publisher=The Atlantic}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=22 October 2013 |title=Drones kill rescuers in 'double tap', say activists |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-24557333 |access-date=21 February 2021 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> by Israel in the 2014 Gaza War, the Gaza war (2023-present), and the 2026 Lebanon war,<ref>{{cite report |url=https://www.phr.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/FFM-30.12.14.pdf |title=Gaza 2014 - Findings of an Independent Medical Fact-Finding Mission |last1=Bachmann |first1=Jutta |last2=Baldwin-Ragaven |first2=Laurel |last3=Hougen |first3=Hans-Petter |last4=Leaning |first4=Jennifer |last5=Kelly |first5=Karen |last6=Özkalipci |first6=Önder |last7=Reynolds |first7=Louis |last8=Vacas |first8=Alicia |date=20 January 2015 |publisher=Physicians for Human Rights Israel |access-date=24 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Mellen |first=Riley |date=14 July 2024 |title=Israel Struck Twice in Its Attack on Al-Mawasi, Videos and Photos Show |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/14/world/middleeast/israel-mawasi-strike-vehicles.html |access-date=15 July 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=25 August 2025 |title=Israel bombed Gaza hospital a second time, killing rescuers, say health officials|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/25/journalists-among-people-killed-by-israeli-strike-on-gaza-hospital |access-date=25 August 2025 |work=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=15 April 2026 |title=Consecutive Israeli strikes kill 4 Lebanese medics as Israel-Hezbollah war grinds on|url=https://www.djournal.com/news/nation-world/consecutive-israeli-strikes-kill-4-lebanese-medics-as-israel-hezbollah-war-grinds-on/article_cb37704e-b6f1-547f-9889-0f50b9ce6a86.html |access-date=23 April 2026 |agency=Associated Press|publisher=Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal}}</ref> by Russia and Syria in the Syrian civil war,<ref>{{Cite news |title=Idlib 'double tap' air strikes: Who's to blame? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-middle-east-49528495/idlib-double-tap-air-strike-russia-says-never-was |access-date=31 August 2019 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Parker |first=Claire |date=22 July 2022 |title=Russia and Syria conducted dozens of illegal 'double tap' strikes, report says |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/07/21/syria-russia-double-tap-airstrikes-report-war-crimes/ |access-date=8 August 2023 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> and by Russia in the Russo-Ukrainian War, especially since the full-scale invasion in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Epstein |first=Jake |title=Russia is bombing the same targets moments apart to kill Ukrainian rescue crews that arrive to save survivors |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-double-tap-ukrainian-rescuers-bombing-same-targets-twice-2022-4 |access-date=8 August 2023 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref>

===2025 Nasser Hospital strikes=== {{Main|2025 Nasser Hospital strikes}}

On 25 August 2025, an Israel Defense Forces double tap strike hit the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip, killing 22 people, including 5 journalists. Among the journalists killed were the following: a Reuters cameraman, Hussam al-Masri; Mariam Dagga, a 33-year-old female freelance journalist for Associated Press; Mohammed Salama, an Al Jazeera cameraman; Moaz Abu Taha, a freelance photographer who also was working with Reuters, and Ahmed Abu Aziz, a correspondent for Middle East Eye and Quds News Network.

The attack also claimed the lives of medical staff, a paramedic, and other civilians, with approximately 50 others wounded, including Reuters photographer Hatem Khaled who later died. The attacks targeted the hospital's fourth floor, resulting in casualties and damage. The strikes have drawn international condemnation and have been widely covered regarding the protection of medical facilities and journalists during the Gaza war.<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 August 2025 |title=Israeli strike on Gaza's Nasser Hospital kills at least 20 people, including 5 journalists, health officials say |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-gaza-nasser-hospital-strike-journalists-killed-officials-say/ |access-date=26 August 2025 |website=CBS News}}</ref>

===2026 Mayfadoun ambulance strikes=== On 15 April 2026, Israeli forces carried out a quadruple tap strike in Mayfadoun, Lebanon. The attack involved four consecutive waves of strikes targeting three different ambulance corps. After an initial airstrike, paramedics from the Islamic Health Association were hit by a second strike while responding to the scene. As additional rescuers from the Islamic Risala Scout Association and the Nabatieh Emergency Services arrived to evacuate the wounded, two further strikes hit their vehicles.<ref name="QuadrupleTap"/>

The four strikes resulted in the deaths of four paramedics and the wounding of six others. While the Israeli military has previously stated that such strikes target infrastructure used by combatants, the Nabatieh emergency services released video evidence of the ambulance interiors to demonstrate they were not transporting weapons. The Lebanese Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization condemned the incident, noting that medical personnel are protected non-combatants under international law. The event was cited by rescuers and journalists as a deadly escalation of the "double tap" tactic, leading to the coining of the term "quadruple tap".<ref name="QuadrupleTap"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Inside the 'quadruple tap' strike on Lebanon paramedics |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/lebanon-paramedics-strike-9.7173448 |access-date=4 May 2026 |work=www.cbc.ca |date=2026-04-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=israeli-attacks-in-south-lebanon-turn-rescue-operations-into-suicide-missions/ |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2026/04/17/israeli-attacks-in-south-lebanon-turn-rescue-operations-into-suicide-missions/ |website=www.thenationalnews.com |date=2026-04-17}}</ref>

== References == {{reflist}}

== Notes == {{Notelist}}

==Sources== * {{cite book |last1=Grieco |first1=J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u15jEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA304 |title=Introduction to International Relations: Perspectives, Connections and Enduring Questions |last2=Ikenberry |first2=G.J. |last3=Mastanduno |first3=M. |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-350-93374-3 |access-date=23 June 2024}}

Category:Ambushes Category:Assault tactics Category:Diversionary tactics Category:Military deception Category:Military terminology Category:Psychological warfare techniques Category:Violations of medical neutrality Category:War crimes by type