Israeli Forces Raid Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Detain Medical Staff

Nasser Hospital Raid

Israeli forces raided Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, the largest functioning hospital in Gaza, after laying siege to the facility for days and saying it was hunting for militants and hostages there.

Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the raid was based on “credible intelligence from a number of sources, including from released hostages,” that Hamas had previously held hostages at the hospital.

Gaza Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra said Israeli forces detained medical staff inside Nasser Medical Complex and that Israel “turned into a military base,” while Hamas denied the allegations.

The World Health Organization said the raid was deeply alarming and warned that “hospitals must not be militarized nor attacked,” as it said Nasser is the backbone of the health system in southern Gaza.

WHO warning2 of 4 outlets reported it · not in ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English and 1 more▾

The NPR report said Dr. Khaled al-Serr wrote that “At Nasser Hospital we have no electricity, no drinking water, even no tap water,” as he tried to coordinate care for patients in the intensive care unit.

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Hostages, Evacuation, Denials

The Israeli military said it had “apprehended a number of suspects” during the raid and described the operation as “precise and limited,” while it said it was based on information that Hamas militants were hiding and had kept hostages in the facility. A Hamas spokesperson denied the claims, calling them “lies,” as health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave said Israel forced out dozens of staff, patients, displaced people and families of medical staff sheltering in the hospital. The NPR report said the Israeli military released photos of men it said were Hamas militants found in the hospital, while it reported that soldiers digging through rubble had not yet uncovered any hostage remains.

Hamas denial4 of 7 outlets reported it · not in NPR and 2 more▾

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, refuted the Israeli military’s “safe corridor” claim by saying “Access to the hospital remains obstructed — there is no safe corridor for those in need.” The UN Human Rights Office said the raid came less than a week after Israeli forces raided Al Amal Hospital and described a week-long siege that cut off medical, food and fuel supplies.

WHO safe corridor1 of 4 outlets reported it · not in ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English and 2 more▾

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Humanitarian Stakes and Capacity

The World Health Organization spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said the hospital is the backbone of the health system in southern Gaza and must remain functional, while he warned that health facilities in the south have no capacity to receive more patients. The WHO said Nasser Hospital is barely functional and reported “349% bed capacity and 242% ICU (intensive care unit) capacity,” as it called for protection of health care and adherence to international humanitarian law. The UNRWA account in the WHO report said Nasser Hospital continues to be besieged by Israeli tanks and said there were reportedly 10,000 displaced people within the hospital’s premises, including 300 medical personnel.

The NPR report said Gaza’s Health Ministry warned that this left the lives of six patients on respirators and two babies in incubators in danger, while it said the hospital had been under siege for almost a week. The Asharq Al-Awsat report said Israeli plans to storm Rafah prompted international concern that such action would sharply worsen the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, as it described rain battering Palestinians taking shelter in Rafah and said more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million population were sheltering there.

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