Gaza Genocideupdated 18m ago3 min read
Israeli Strike Hits Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Killing At Least Six
“Israel says hospital used for terrorist activities”
“MSF said it was ‘utterly appalled and outraged’ that patients and medical personnel had once again been killed and injured inside a hospital.”
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Israeli airstrike on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis killed six, including a surgeon. Strike hit the hospital's surgery department, injuring dozens and halting surgeries.
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Nasser Hospital strike
An Israeli air strike hit the surgical wing of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip in the early hours of Thursday, killing at least six people, including surgeon Rizq Abu Shaira, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry and Middle East Eye. The Israeli army confirmed the strike and said it had targeted “a high-ranking terrorist and other Hamas terrorists hiding in Nasser hospital,” while Gaza’s health authorities said the attack forced the closure of the complex’s emergency, surgery, radiology, and laboratory departments that serve about 1.3 million people.
The Israeli army also said it struck a senior Hamas militant and other fighters while operating within Nasser Hospital, and it added that Hamas had “established a presence within the hospital complex and used it as a command center for military and terrorist activities against IDF troops and the State of Israel.” MSF said it was “horrified and outraged” by the attack and highlighted that “under no conceivable circumstances can attacks on functioning hospitals in Gaza be treated as normal or acceptable.”
Competing claims and witnesses
Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, who volunteered at Nasser alongside Abu Shaira, said, “That is not complicity. It is active participation in the murder of doctors and other healthcare workers,” while physician Thaer Ahmad recalled, “If our Congress had respected international humanitarian law and U.S. national law, Dr. Riziq would still be alive.”
The Israeli army said it had warned “on several occasions, including recently, that the military activity at the hospital be halted,” but Ahmed al-Farra, the general director of the hospital, said no warning came before the attack.
Goher Rahbour, a British surgeon volunteering at Nasser Hospital, said the strike occurred just after midnight and shook the whole building, adding, “It was extremely smoky,” while a medical staff member said the recovery area on the same floor was reduced to rubble.
Hamas rejected the Israeli allegations and described them as an attempt to justify what it called a “new war crime against a civilian medical facility protected under international law,” and the Peace Council called for immediate implementation of Donald Trump’s peace plan while condemning Hamas’ “continued exploitation of hospitals and other vital civilian infrastructure for military purposes.”
Hospitals, ceasefire, and fallout
The World Health Organization placed the figure at 94% of Gaza’s hospitals destroyed totally or partially during the Israeli offensive, and MSF said the attack came as Nasser Hospital had endured at least six airstrikes, repeated ground incursions, shelling and gunfire since October 2023. The Peace Council said the “tragic loss of lives” from the Nasser Hospital strike confirmed the need for immediate implementation of Trump’s peace plan “without any further delay,” while Hamas said the Council “fully adopted the occupier’s misleading narrative and sought to cover up the ongoing and unjustified aggression.”
The Gaza Peace Council warned that if Trump’s plan was not implemented, “we will continue to witness tragedies in which Hamas claims Israeli attacks on hospitals, while Israel confirms that Hamas uses these facilities for terrorist operations, and in the end, innocent civilians in Gaza pay the price.” Turkey condemned the attack as a “serious violation of international law, foremost of international humanitarian law,” and the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis announced on Thursday that the number of victims from the Israeli airstrike had risen to 6 dead and about 30 injured, including 7 in critical condition.