Israeli strike on Gaza hospital kills six Palestinians, health ministry says

An Israeli strike on Nasser hospital in southern Gaza killed six Palestinians early Thursday, the territory’s health ministry said, hitting a facility that provides critical medical care in Khan Younis. Witnesses cited by BBC News said a missile struck a building containing surgical wards and intensive care units.

Gaza Civil Defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal told Reuters that the strike hit the hospital’s surgery department, causing extensive damage and wounding 20 people. Medics identified one of those killed as surgeon Rezik Abushira. The casualty figures were attributed to local health and rescue authorities, rather than an independent count.

Reuters footage from inside the hospital showed rubble and furniture scattered across damaged rooms, with wires hanging from ceilings. People carried injured patients on stretchers through debris-covered corridors, while others helped wounded people walk through the wreckage. Bodies were carried away as firefighters worked outside the building.

The Israeli military and Shin Bet security service said the strike targeted a senior Hamas operative and other members of the group who were hiding at the hospital, according to a statement reported by The Times of Israel. They said the results were still under review and that precision weapons and aerial surveillance had been used to reduce civilian harm.

The Israeli statement also alleged that Hamas had used the hospital grounds for military activities, including storing weapons and operating command centres. Those allegations were not independently established in the reporting reviewed. A Hamas spokesperson condemned the strike in a statement to Reuters, describing it as a war crime.

Nasser is the largest hospital in southern Gaza, according to the BBC account, making the location of the strike particularly consequential for patients needing surgery or intensive care. Damage to a building housing those services raises questions about whether treatment can continue safely. The available accounts did not establish the full extent of disruption across the hospital.

The attack comes amid continuing disputes over a year-old ceasefire. Reuters reported that Israel accuses Hamas of regrouping and rebuilding its arsenal, while Hamas says it remains committed to the agreement and accuses Israel of undermining it. The hospital strike adds to those competing accounts of responsibility for continuing violence.

For patients and medical staff, the immediate concern is the condition of the damaged wards and the treatment of those wounded. Further information from hospital authorities would be needed to establish which services remain available and whether patients require transfer. Israel’s stated review of the strike’s results also leaves its account of the outcome unresolved.