Israeli strike hits Gaza's Nasser Hospital, killing six
Gaza authorities report more than 20 wounded. Israel says it was after a Hamas commander it claims was hiding in the surgical building.
An Israeli airstrike hit Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis early Thursday, the main medical center in southern Gaza. The blast tore into the surgical building and destroyed part of its second floor.
Gaza's Civil Defense, an agency that answers to Hamas, counted six dead and more than 20 wounded. The hospital confirmed the six deaths and said one of the victims is a doctor. Local authorities put the day's toll at seven: a Palestinian was also shot dead by Israeli forces east of the Al Bureij camp.
The Israeli military confirmed the strike on its official X account. It said the operation, carried out with Shin Bet, its domestic security service, targeted Muhammad Abu Ismail, who it says leads Hamas' Khan Younis brigade, along with other militants it claims were hiding in the hospital.
Hamas denies using the hospital as a base, and its spokesman, Hazem Qasem, called the strike a "war crime." The group did not say whether Abu Ismail was there or survived. No independent source has corroborated Israel's account or the casualty count.
The strike came under a ceasefire in effect since Oct. 10, 2025, which Israel and Hamas accuse each other of violating. Gaza's Health Ministry has counted more than 1,622 Palestinians killed since then; five Israeli soldiers have died.
Hospital staff count at least seven attacks on the complex since the war began. The deadliest came in August 2025, when about 20 people died, journalists among them, and the Israeli government called it a "tragic mistake."
