KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — One Israeli airstrike The shooting targeting Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza killed six people, including a general surgeon, and injured at least 28 others, Gaza’s health ministry said.
The strike was carried out early Thursday, according to the Israeli military, which said it struck a Hamas commander and other activists, without providing evidence.
Gaza’s health ministry said the strike hit the surgical wing of the hospital and that a doctor, Rizk Abu Shaira, was among the dead. Inside the building, parts of several floors were either severely damaged or destroyed. Debris was strewn across hospital beds and equipment, and rebar hung from the ceiling where the munition had penetrated.
British surgeon Goher Rahbour, a volunteer at Nasser Hospital, said the strike occurred shortly after midnight and shook the entire building.
“It was extremely smoky,” said Rahbour, who was on the fourth floor of the surgical ward when the bomb struck. The recovery area on the same floor was reduced to rubble, he said.
He said he was operating alongside Abu Shaira just hours before the attack. “A lovely, happy, smiling guy,” he said.
Nasser Hospital in the town of Khan Younis is one of the few functioning medical facilities in Gaza, whose health infrastructure has been decimated by a war lasting several years.
The Israeli army has attacked or besieged hospitals across Gaza, accusing Hamas of using them as command centers and to hide fighters. It also destroyed medical equipment and supplies and killed or arrested hundreds of health workers.
In armed conflicts, hospitals and their personnel are protected by international humanitarian law. A hospital can, however, lose its protected status if it is used for military purposes.
In a statement released Thursday, the army said Hamas had “established a presence within the hospital complex” and that the commander had made it “a headquarters.”
Israeli forces have already attacked the Nasser hospital. In 2025, the military killed five journalists – including AP contributor Mariam Dagga – when he hit a gathering point for local journalists at the complex.
The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Since then, Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 74,600 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government but whose figures are generally considered reliable by the international community.
Israel has continued to strike Gaza despite a US-backed ceasefire and controls at least 60% of the enclave. Since the truce came into force in October 2025, Israeli strikes and shootings have killed 1,622 people, according to health authorities. Five Israeli soldiers were also killed during this period.
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Ezzidin reported from Cairo.
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Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
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