Israeli strike on Gaza's Nasser Hospital kills six, including a doctor and a child

What happened at Nasser Hospital

An Israeli airstrike hit the surgical department of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, shortly after midnight on Thursday, 12 November. Gaza's Health Ministry said six people were killed, and Palestinian officials said the dead included a 52-year-old doctor and a 13-year-old boy. The number of wounded varies by source: AP reports at least 28, ANSA about 20, and CNN 40, including two doctors in critical condition. Parts of several floors were severely damaged or destroyed, and debris covered hospital beds and equipment. Surgeries were suspended, and work in the radiology department and the laboratory stopped as well. Footage from inside the hospital showed two bombs, one of which did not explode, and a label identified it as a US-manufactured GBU-39/B, a 250-pound bomb supplied to Israel.

Israel's claim and Hamas's response

The Israeli military said it targeted Muhammad Abu Ismail, whom it described as the commander of Hamas' Khan Younis Brigade, along with other militants hiding inside the hospital. It provided no public evidence for the claim. Deutsche Welle reported that Abu Ismail was not among the six dead identified by the hospital. CNN asked the IDF whether he had been killed and what measures were taken to reduce the risk to civilians. Hamas rejected the accusations and called the strike a new war crime against a facility protected by international law. AP reports that the Israeli military has raided or laid siege to hospitals across Gaza, accusing Hamas of using them as command centers.

Doctors describe the attack

Goher Rahbour, a British surgeon volunteering at Nasser Hospital, was on the fourth floor of the surgical department when the strike shook the whole building. He said the recovery area on the same floor was reduced to rubble, and that he had operated alongside the dead surgeon just hours earlier.

It was extremely smoky

Ahmed al-Farra, the hospital's general director, said no warning came before the attack. He said nearby medical facilities cannot carry out the specialized surgeries Nasser had been providing, which leaves patients who need them facing an unknown fate. Al-Farra also described the conditions in which staff were already working, citing supply shortages.

No one's safe here

Condemnation and calls for protection

World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus condemned the strike, saying it damaged the operating theaters, recovery unit and intensive care unit. The WHO said it had documented 1,056 attacks on health facilities in Gaza since the offensive began after 7 October 2023, causing more than 1,000 deaths and 1,725 injuries. The Peace Council created by Donald Trump called for immediate implementation of the US president's peace plan for Gaza, pointing to the Nasser strike as the reason.

Ceasefire and wider toll

A nominal US-brokered ceasefire was signed more than a year ago, yet Israel has carried out near-daily strikes in Gaza, according to CNN. The United Nations says Israeli forces have killed more than 1,400 people since the ceasefire. Deutsche Welle counted at least 11 deaths across Gaza on Thursday, and said the Nasser strike was the deadliest since Israel's legislative elections in late October. Two more Palestinians, a man and a woman, died when their vehicle was hit near Shifa hospital, and a drone strike hit a residential building in the same area. Israeli forces denied attacking near Shifa.