Israeli Airstrike Hits Gaza's Nasser Hospital, Killing Six Including a Doctor
The Israeli military says it targeted a senior Hamas militant using the hospital as a command center, without providing evidence; Gaza's Health Ministry says the surgery department was hit.
An Israeli airstrike on Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza early Thursday killed six people and wounded at least a dozen more, Gaza's Health Ministry said. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government, said the strike hit the hospital's surgery department and that a doctor was among the dead. An Associated Press journalist at the scene said parts of the building's second floor were destroyed.
The Israeli military confirmed it carried out the strike. It said it targeted "a senior Hamas terrorist" and other militants "while they were operating within Nasser Hospital," and described the facility as a "command center for military and terrorist activities." It did not provide evidence for either claim. Israel has long accused Hamas and its allies of using hospitals as cover for military activity.
Nasser Hospital, in the city of Khan Younis, has been hit before. Israeli forces have attacked and raided it on previous occasions. In 2025, the Israeli military killed five journalists, including AP contributor Mariam Dagga, when it struck a gathering point for local reporters at the hospital complex.
The strike is the latest to test the U.S.-backed ceasefire that took effect in October 2025. Despite the truce, Israel has continued to strike Gaza and controls at least 60% of the enclave. Gaza health authorities say Israeli strikes and gunfire have killed 1,622 people since the ceasefire began, while five Israeli soldiers have also been killed in that period.
The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Israel's retaliatory offensive has since killed more than 74,600 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Its figures are generally considered reliable by the international community, although the ministry is part of the Hamas-run government.
The strike comes as conditions for Gaza's civilians worsen. This week, the first winter storm of the season flooded tents housing an estimated 70,000 people, and a sandbank collapse killed five people sheltering in tents. Hospitals across the territory have operated for months under severe strain, and attacks on medical facilities draw particular scrutiny under international humanitarian law, which grants hospitals special protection unless they are used for military purposes.
There was no immediate indication of how the strike would affect talks over the ceasefire's next phase. Israel's political leadership is also in flux, with President Isaac Herzog having asked opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot to try to form the next government. The Health Ministry has not yet released the names of all of those killed at Nasser Hospital, and the toll could change as the wounded are treated.
