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Israeli airstrike on Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza kills six people, including a surgeon
Developing
- What happened
- An Israeli airstrike hit the surgical wing of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis early on Thursday, killing six people, Gaza’s Health Ministry said.
- Why it matters
- Nasser is one of the few hospitals still working in Gaza, and four of its departments have now suspended services.
- What’s next
- Israel says it struck a Hamas commander inside the hospital but has given no evidence; the ceasefire looks increasingly fragile.
How this story developed
- 12:29First report
- 14:272nd source
- 14:27Confirmed
- 15:19+2 outlets in 7 min
- 12:29First reportNPR World
- 14:272nd sourceDW World
- 14:27ConfirmedWas: Single source
- 15:19Latest+2 outlets in 7 minThe Guardian World and BBC News World
Full story
The strike
An Israeli airstrike hit Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, shortly after midnight on Thursday. Gaza’s Health Ministry said six people were killed and at least 28 wounded. Among the dead was Rizk Abu Shaira, a 52-year-old general surgeon, and, according to the hospital’s director, a disabled man.
The bomb struck the surgery department. NPR and the Guardian described parts of several floors as severely damaged or destroyed, with debris across beds and equipment and a hole where the munition went through the building. The hospital’s director, Dr Ahmed al-Fara, told the Guardian that services were suspended in four departments: radiology, laboratories, surgical operations and the inpatient surgical wards.
What Israel says
The Israeli military confirmed that it carried out the strike. It said it had targeted Muhammad Abu Ismail, whom it described as a senior Hamas member responsible for directing attacks and for holding hostages during the war, along with other militants. It said Hamas was running a command centre inside the hospital and used the complex to store weapons and conduct interrogations.
NPR, DW and the Guardian all noted that the military provided no evidence for these claims. DW added that hospitals are protected under international humanitarian law but can lose that protection if they are used for military purposes. NPR recalled that the Israeli military has raided or besieged hospitals across Gaza, accusing Hamas of using them to hide fighters.
Inside the hospital
Goher Rahbour, a British surgeon volunteering at Nasser, told NPR he was on the fourth floor of the surgical department when the bomb hit, and that the recovery area on that floor was reduced to rubble.
“It was extremely smoky.”
Goher Rahbour, surgeon, NPR World
He said he had operated alongside Abu Shaira only hours earlier. Dr Ayman Abu Ubaid, a surgical specialist who was wounded, told the Guardian the strike came at about 12.30am without warning, when the patients, all waiting for operations, should have been asleep.
Nasser is the largest hospital in southern Gaza, according to the BBC, and one of the few still functioning in a territory whose health system has been devastated by years of war. DW said the strike came during an increasingly fragile ceasefire.