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. Double-tap strikes have been used by
Saudi Arabia during
its military intervention in
Yemen, by the
United States in
Pakistan, Yemen, and the
Gulf of Mexico, by
Israel in the
2014 Gaza War, the
Gaza war (2023-present), and the
2026 Lebanon war, by
Russia and the
Ba'athist Syria in the
Syrian civil war, and by Russia in the
Russo-Ukrainian War, especially
since the full-scale invasion in 2022.
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.
Minab school attack On 28 February 2026, the first day of the US–Israeli attacks on
Iran that escalated into
a war, the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' elementary school in
Minab,
Hormozgan province in southern Iran, was destroyed during the school day. The elementary school was adjacent to an active IRGC compound. making it the mass casualty event in the ongoing war. Iranian officials later claimed there were three separate strikes on the school, without specifying the time between the strikes.
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. 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". == References ==