During the war in Gaza, an Israeli strike was caught on camera hitting a group of health volunteers engaged in relief operations on a building. The group, working near the dilapidated stairs of a building, was struck directly to the horror of civilians all around, with many of them claiming it was the targeted killing of health workers as they witnessed a "double tap".
On 28 February, 165 people were killed—most of them children—at Iran's Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in a targeted airstrike. Initially, it was believed to have been carried out by Israel, but it was later revealed to be by US forces. Unconfirmed reports claim the school compound witnessed a "double tap", which gave the victims no chance of survival.
What is "double tapping", and why do anti-war campaigners and ground combatants loathe it in the context of modern warfare?
A double-tap strike can be executed by missiles as well as drones. It is a military tactic where an initial attack is followed by a second strike on the exact same location after a brief interval. Depending on the situation and objectives, the second strike can happen within a few minutes to an hour.
The primary objective of the second strike remains debatable. While one can argue it is launched to ensure the original target is completely destroyed or has no chance to survive, and to ensure maximum damage to the enemy, it is often claimed that the strategy is a purposeful move to hit bystanders and first responders, including healthcare professionals and rescuers who arrive at the scene. This is why the second strike is often delayed—so that onlookers gather at the spot and help arrives. Critics of this strategy call the interval between the first and second strike "the cooldown period".
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Double-tap strikes work against the principle that militaries must distinguish between combatants and civilians or medical professionals. Its use as psychological warfare—as medical workers will be scared to help survivors, fearing for their own safety—is viewed as cruelty, if not a war crime, by many.
While Russia was accused of double-tapping locations in Idlib and Aleppo during the Syrian Civil War, the CIA has been accused of tasking US forces to do the same against terror camps in Yemen and Pakistan. These strikes are typically designed to target first responders, medical personnel, and bystanders who have rushed to the scene to assist victims of the first blast.