Israeli military says Hamas commander turned the complex into a headquarters
An Israeli airstrike on Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis killed six people, including a general surgeon, and wounded at least a dozen more, Gaza’s Health Ministry said. The ministry said a doctor, Rizk Abu Shaira, was among the dead and that the strike hit the hospital’s surgical wing. The Israeli military said it carried out the strike early Thursday, targeting a Hamas commander and other militants, without providing evidence.
Inside the building, parts of several floors were either severely damaged or destroyed. Debris was scattered across hospital beds and equipment, and rebar dangled from the ceiling where the munition penetrated.
Nasser Hospital is one of the few functioning medical facilities left in Gaza, where the healthcare infrastructure has been decimated by the yearslong war.
In a statement Thursday, the Israeli military said Hamas had “established a presence within the hospital complex” and that the commander had turned it “into a headquarters.”
The Israeli military has raided or laid siege to hospitals across Gaza, accusing Hamas of using them as command centers and to hide fighters, according to the report. It has also destroyed medical equipment and supplies and killed or detained hundreds of healthcare workers.
In armed conflict, hospitals and their staff are protected under international humanitarian law. A hospital can lose its protected status, however, if it is used for military purposes.
Israeli forces have attacked Nasser Hospital before. In 2025, the military struck a gathering point for local reporters at the complex, killing five journalists — including Associated Press contributor Mariam Dagga.
The war started on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 74,600 people since then, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government but whose figures are generally considered reliable by the international community.
Israel has continued to strike Gaza despite a U.S.-backed ceasefire and controls at least 60% of the enclave. Israeli strikes and gunfire have killed 1,622 people since the truce took effect in October 2025, health authorities say. Five Israeli soldiers have also been killed during that period.