Nasser Hospital Strike Kills Six, Including a Surgeon, in Gaza
The strike tore through the hospital’s surgery wing early on Thursday. Israel says Hamas was using the complex as a command center, while Hamas called it a war crime.
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza, Nov 12 – An Israeli strike hit Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza early on Thursday and killed at least six people, Gaza officials said. One of the dead was a surgeon.
The strike on Nasser Hospital hit the surgery wing, the part of the hospital where doctors treat and operate on the sick and wounded.
Medics identified the surgeon as Rezik Abushira.
The number of people injured was not yet clear. Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 12 people were wounded, while the civil defense service put the figure at 20.
Israel said it was targeting Hamas. The military said it struck a senior Hamas commander and other fighters who, it said, were operating from inside the hospital. It did not provide evidence to support the claim.
In a statement, the army said Hamas stored weapons at the site and used it to run command rooms. It said the group also used the buildings to monitor Israeli troops and shelter its fighters.
The military described the hospital as “a command center for military and terrorist activities.”
Reuters could not independently verify those claims. The strike has raised renewed concerns about the safety of medical facilities and patients in Gaza, where hospitals have repeatedly been caught up in the fighting.
Hamas said the strike was a crime. A spokesman for the group called it a “fully-fledged war crime.”
The damage was heavy. Mahmoud Basal, a spokesman for the civil defense service, said the surgery department had been badly hit.
An Associated Press reporter at the scene said parts of the second floor had been destroyed; rubble, broken chairs and beds lay across the rooms, while wires hung from the ceilings.
People carried patients out on stretchers, picking their way through halls filled with debris. Some of the wounded walked out with assistance, while bodies were carried away as firefighters worked outside.
Nasser Hospital is in the city of Khan Younis. It is one of the few hospitals in Gaza that is still operating, as the war has left most others badly damaged or shut.
This is not the first time the hospital has been hit. Israeli troops have raided it before. In 2025, an Israeli strike on an area of the hospital where local journalists had gathered killed five reporters, including Mariam Dagga, who worked with the Associated Press.
Israel has long said that Hamas hides in and beneath hospitals. Hamas denies the claim.
The strike came during a ceasefire. The truce, backed by the United States, began in October 2025. But Israel has continued its strikes and now controls at least 60% of Gaza.
Israel says it has intensified its attacks because Hamas is trying to rebuild. Hamas says it remains committed to the deal and accuses Israel of trying to undermine it. The strike on Nasser Hospital is likely to deepen concerns about the safety of medical facilities and civilians in Gaza, where hospitals have repeatedly been caught up in the fighting.
Since the truce began, about 1,600 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, according to Gaza health officials. Israel says four or five of its soldiers have died during the same period, although reports differ on the exact number.
The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel. Israel says they killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.
Israel then launched its war on Gaza. More than 74,000 people have been killed there since, according to the Health Ministry. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, but aid groups and the United Nations have long regarded its figures as broadly reliable.
The conflict has devastated much of Gaza, destroying homes, hospitals, schools and vital infrastructure. Humanitarian agencies have warned that the territory faces severe shortages of food, clean water, medical care and shelter, leaving much of the population dependent on aid.
