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Rushdie Abualuf, Gaza correspondent (Istanbul), reporter Claire Keenan
At least five Palestinians were killed on the 12th when Israeli forces attacked the Nasser Hospital building in Khan Yunis, southern Palestine's Gaza Strip. An official with the Civil Defense Force, run by Gaza's militant group Hamas, told the BBC.
Witnesses said a fighter jet that briefly flew over the area early Tuesday fired a missile that hit the building that houses the hospital's surgical ward and intensive care unit. A civil defense spokesman said 20 people were injured in the attack.
The victims of the attack reportedly included a surgeon.
The Israeli military said it attacked Hamas leaders and fighters who were using the hospital "as a command center for military and terrorist activities."
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israel Security Agency (ISA) issued a joint statement strongly condemning Hamas' use of "civilian and medical infrastructure for military purposes."
Regarding this attack, he added, ``We took measures to reduce the damage to civilians, including the use of precision-guided missiles and aerial surveillance.''
Hospitals are protected under international law. But it has been repeatedly targeted in the war in Gaza.
Israel accuses Hamas, which maintains weapons and control of security in the Gaza Strip, of using the hospital for military purposes. Hamas claims to store weapons and operate a command and control room inside the hospital. Hamas denies this.
Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal earlier told AFP news agency that six people were killed. Foreign media outlets, including the BBC, are prohibited by Israel from reporting independently from within the Gaza Strip and are unable to confirm details.
Currently, restoration work in Gaza is being carried out by Hamas-run Civil Defense Forces under the Ministry of Interior. Its activities are supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Footage posted online by activists showed thick smoke billowing inside the hospital and extensive damage to the second floor, where medical equipment and beds were scattered from the explosion.
Speaking to reporters after the attack, a representative of the Nasser medical complex said the building had been attacked from a vertical direction. He said both the men's and women's intensive care units and surgical departments were severely damaged.
Nasser Hospital, the largest hospital in southern Gaza, was hit by Israeli airstrikes twice in August 2025. At least 20 people were killed at the time, including journalists and medical workers.
Despite a ceasefire agreed in October last year, Israeli attacks on Gaza continue. More than 1,600 people have been killed since the ceasefire, according to Hamas-run Gaza's Health Ministry. The United Nations has described the Ministry of Health's data as reliable.
Israel and Hamas accuse each other of violating the ceasefire agreement.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has been exacerbated by recent heavy rains, which have reportedly flooded tens of thousands of tents housing people who have fled their homes.
The conflict in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, with an attack on Israel led by Hamas. Approximately 1,200 people were killed in Israel in attacks by Hamas and other groups, and 251 were taken hostage.
In the ensuing war, 74,645 people were killed in the Gaza Strip, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
(English article: Israeli strike on hospital kills at least five Palestinians, Gaza civil defense agency says)
