A double tap is originally a shooting technique where two shots are fired in rapid succession at the same target. More recently it has expanded to refer to the practice of following a strike, e.g., a missile , air strikes , artillery shelling or improvised explosive device attack with a second strike several minutes later, hitting emergency responders and medical personnel rushing to the site.[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] [ 4] A Florida Law Review article argued that the practice likely is a war crime since it grossly violates the Geneva Conventions of 1949 , which prohibit targeting civilians, the wounded, or those no longer able to continue fighting .[ 5]
While the practice is not new,[citation needed ] the double-tap strikes became easier to execute with introduction of the drone warfare and, along with signature strikes , became the subject of debate during the US war in Afghanistan .[ 6] Double-tap strikes have been used by Saudi Arabia during its military intervention in Yemen ,[ 7] [ 8] by the United States in Pakistan and Yemen,[ 9] [ 10] [ 11] by Israel in Gaza in 2014[ 12] and also during Israel-Hamas war in 2024,[ 13] by Russia and the Syrian government in the Syrian civil war [ 14] [ 15] and by Russia and Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian War , especially in the full-scale invasion in 2022 .[ 16] [ 17]
References
^ "Double Tap Strikes: Deliberate Attacks on First Responders in Syria and Yemen – Defenders for Medical Impartiality" . defendmedicalimpartiality.org . Retrieved 2018-08-10 .
^ Woods, Chris; Yusufzai, Mushtaq (August 1, 2013). "Drone strikes in Pakistan -- Get the Data: The return of double-tap drone strikes" . The Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Archived from the original on 7 August 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2015 .
^ Julian Thompson; Marius Rehn; Hans Morten Lossius; David Lockey (24 September 2014). "Risks to emergency medical responders at terrorist incidents: a narrative review of the medical literature" . Critical Care . 18 (5): 521. doi :10.1186/s13054-014-0521-1 . PMC 4422304 . PMID 25323086 .
^ "Secondary Devices a Primary Concern | Office of Justice Programs" . www.ojp.gov . Retrieved 2023-08-09 .
^ Alexander, Samuel (2018-02-21). "Double-Tap Warfare: Should President Obama Be Investigated for War Crimes?" . Florida Law Review . 69 (1): 261. ISSN 1045-4241 .
^ Grieco, Ikenberry & Mastanduno 2022 , pp. 303−304.
^ Dehghan, Saeed (16 September 2016). " 'After an hour the plane came back': repeated airstrikes take toll on Yemeni civilians" . theguardian.com .
^ "The Human Rights Abuses in Yemen's "Forgotten War" " . Time . 2016-10-12. Retrieved 2023-08-08 .
^ Taylor, Jerome (2012-09-25). "Outrage at CIA's deadly 'double tap' drone" . London: Independent. Retrieved 2013-05-25 .
^ Friedersdorf, Conor (2013-10-24). "Drone Attacks at Funerals of People Killed in Drone Strikes" . The Atlantic. Retrieved 2019-04-29 .
^ "Drones kill rescuers in 'double tap', say activists" . BBC News . 2013-10-22. Retrieved 2021-02-21 .
^ Bachmann, Jutta; Baldwin-Ragaven, Laurel; Hougen, Hans-Petter; Leaning, Jennifer; Kelly, Karen; Özkalipci, Önder; Reynolds, Louis; Vacas, Alicia (January 20, 2015). "Gaza 2014 - Findings of an Independent Medical Fact-Finding Mission" (PDF) . Physicians for Human Rights Israel. Retrieved 24 August 2015 .
^ Mellen, Riley (2024-07-14). "Israel Struck Twice in Its Attack on Al-Mawasi, Videos and Photos Show" . The New York Times . ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-07-15 .
^ "Idlib 'double tap' air strikes: Who's to blame?" . BBC News . Retrieved 2019-08-31 .
^ Parker, Claire (2022-07-22). "Russia and Syria conducted dozens of illegal 'double tap' strikes, report says" . Washington Post . ISSN 0190-8286 . Retrieved 2023-08-08 .
^ Epstein, Jake. "Russia is bombing the same targets moments apart to kill Ukrainian rescue crews that arrive to save survivors" . Business Insider . Retrieved 2023-08-08 .
^ "Attacks in Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions leave 28 dead, Moscow-appointed officials say" . AP News . 2024-06-08. Retrieved 2024-06-09 . He said Ukrainian forces had 'deliberately made a repeat strike to create greater numbers of casualties' when 'residents of nearby houses ran out to help the injured.'
Sources