An Israeli airstrike on one of the largest hospitals in Gaza has killed at least six Palestinians, including a prominent surgeon, and wounded more than 30 others.
The attack on the Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza took place in the early hours of Thursday, local media and Gaza’s health ministry reported.
The doctor killed has been named Dr Rizq Abu Shaeira, and described by Al Jazeera as “a significant and prominent surgeon”.
The airstrike directly hit the surgical department and caused significant damage to the facility’s intensive care wards, according to the hospital’s director Raed al-Dahshan, who added that the death toll is expected to rise.
A nurse working a night shift at the hospital said it was “terrifying”, adding: “‘I saw patients trapped under the rubble and colleagues injured. We lost some of the patients I had been caring for.”
“Most of those killed and injured were patients, including people who were scheduled to undergo surgery the following day,” Al Jazeera’s Gaza correspondent Hind Khoudary reported.
“This is one of the largest hospitals in the Gaza Strip and the only hospital still standing in Khan Younis, serving at least 500,000 people in southern Gaza.”
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) claimed it was targeting a “Hamas brigade commander” in the hospital.
This latest airstrike on Nasser Medical Complex is believed to be the seventh time it has been struck by Israel over the past three years.
Israel has destroyed or damaged every single hospital in Gaza since October 2023 in a systematic campaign targeting healthcare infrastructure and medical staff.
Medical Aid for Palestinians is calling on the UK government to sanction Israel and suspend all arms transfers to the state, saying “there must be consequences for those responsible for the destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system”.
Israeli attacks have killed another seven Palestinians across the Strip in recent days, including children, in what has been described as the indiscriminate targeting of civilians.
Despite a US-brokered ‘ceasefire’ being in place since October 2025, Israel has continued to carry out near-daily attacks on Gaza with impunity, killing at least 1,600 people in the past year.
Israeli attacks continue as Gaza’s displaced population is faced with catastrophic winter conditions, with heavy rain affecting more than 106,000 people, causing tents and makeshift shelters to flood and latrines to overflow.
The Israeli military has systematically destroyed life-sustaining infrastructure, including Gaza’s sewage network, over three years of genocide. Israel maintains full control of Gaza’s borders and continues to restrict the entry of essential aid.
Around 950,000 Palestinians are forced to live in areas at medium or high risk of flooding and almost the entire population of Gaza needs shelter and other humanitarian assistance, according to Medical Aid for Palestinians.
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