An Israeli airstrike hit Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis early on Thursday, killing at least six people, including a surgeon, and wounding more than 20 others, Gaza’s Civil Defence agency and the health ministry said.
The missile struck the building housing the hospital’s surgical wards and intensive care units — the departments where the most seriously ill patients are treated — causing extensive damage and forcing the surgical ward to suspend operations.
FAKTA
- What: An Israeli airstrike hit Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, early on Thursday, 12 November 2026.
- Deaths: At least six people killed, including a surgeon, a child and a disabled patient, according to Gaza’s Civil Defence agency and the health ministry.
- Injured: More than 20 people wounded, including medical staff and patients.
- Damage: The strike hit the second floor of the Al-Yasin building, badly damaging the intensive care and surgical departments. The surgical ward has suspended operations.
- Israel’s account: The Israeli military said it targeted a senior Hamas member and other militants it said were using the hospital as a command centre. Hamas denied the claim, which could not be independently verified.
- The hospital: Nasser is the largest hospital in southern Gaza and the only hospital still standing in Khan Younis, serving at least 500,000 people.
Nasser Hospital Gaza strike hits intensive care wards
Eyewitnesses told the BBC that a single missile, fired from a warplane that briefly flew over the area, struck the building containing the surgical wards and intensive care units. A paramedic who reached the building soon after the strike said in a video posted online that the missile penetrated the five-storey structure and hit a room in the surgical department.
The director of Nasser Medical Complex said the building was hit in a vertical strike, causing extensive damage to the intensive care and surgical departments, for both men and women. Recovery teams worked through the damaged building in the hours after the attack, with support from the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Surgeon among the dead
The health ministry said medical staff, patients and companions were among those killed, including surgeon Dr Rizq Abu Shaeera, who was treating patients when the surgical buildings were hit. A child and a disabled patient were also among the dead, and most of the casualties were patients, including people who had been scheduled for surgery the following day, according to Al Jazeera.
The death toll rose through the night. Civil Defence officials first reported five people killed and 20 injured, before the health ministry raised the toll to at least six. The Civil Defence spokesman, Mahmoud Basal, told the Reuters news agency that at least six people had been killed and that the strike hit the hospital’s surgery department.
The BBC said it is prevented by Israel from reporting independently from inside the Gaza Strip and was unable to verify details of the incident itself. The Civil Defence agency operates under the Hamas-run interior ministry.
Israel says it targeted Hamas member
The Israeli military said its target was a senior Hamas member and other members of the group’s armed wing who it said had been operating inside the hospital, using it as a command centre. The military provided no evidence with its initial statement, according to the Associated Press, and said the results of the strike were still under review. Reuters said it could not independently verify the Israeli allegations.
Hamas denied that the hospital was being used for military purposes and described the strike as a war crime.
A hospital hit again and again
Nasser Hospital is one of the few major medical facilities still functioning in Gaza. The World Health Organization says 94 per cent of Gaza’s hospitals have been fully or partly destroyed, and Nasser has been targeted at least seven times since October 2023.
The hospital was hit by a double Israeli strike in August 2025 that killed at least 20 people, including journalists and health workers.
Ceasefire under strain
The strike came 13 months into a ceasefire that took effect on 10 October 2025 and that each side accuses the other of breaching. Gaza’s health ministry says more than 1,600 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the agreement began. The figures come from the health ministry and the Civil Defence agency, and there has been no independent count.
Read more on the region in our Middle East coverage, and the full story here: Israeli Strike Hits Nasser Hospital in Gaza, Killing at Least Six.
