IDF strikes Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, killing at least six
Israeli forces targeted alleged Hamas commanders inside the surgical wing, according to military statements.
By Jasmine Carter ·
An Israeli military airstrike on the Nasser Hospital complex in Khan Younis killed at least six people in the early hours of Thursday, November 12. The attack, conducted pre-dawn, also wounded dozens of others, according to the hospital and Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health. A surgeon was among the confirmed dead.
The Israel Defense Forces stated it targeted an alleged Hamas commander and other militants hiding within the facility. In a statement, the IDF alleged that Hamas had established a presence in the hospital complex and used it as a command center for military and terrorist activities. The military did not provide specific evidence to support these claims.
The strike hit the second floor of the surgical wing, which houses the surgery department and the intensive care unit. The hospital announced the facility is now out of service. This was the seventh time Israeli forces have struck the Nasser Hospital complex since the war began on October 7, 2023.
Hamas rejected the Israeli military’s account in a statement, labeling the attack a war crime. The group’s health ministry reported that the building is one of the hospital’s primary facilities. Health officials in Gaza note that Nasser Hospital is the only major medical facility still functioning in the southern part of the strip. It is also among the last functioning hospitals in all of Gaza.
The war in Gaza began following a surprise attack by Hamas into southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Around 1,200 people were killed in Israel during that attack. As of Wednesday, November 11, Israel’s subsequent military operation in Gaza had killed at least 74,653 people and wounded at least 176,007 others, according to statistics from Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
The Israeli military’s statement described the target as a specific location within the hospital grounds. The hospital’s announcement of its closure confirms the structural damage to the surgical wing. The death toll of six includes medical staff and patients present in the building at the time of the strike. The conflict has devastated healthcare infrastructure across the region, leaving limited options for critical care in the south.
