An Israeli airstrike hit the surgical wing of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, shortly after midnight on Thursday, November 12, killing six people, including a surgeon and a 13-year-old boy, according to Gaza health authorities and hospital officials. The attack damaged operating rooms and patient areas, wounded at least 20 people in early accounts, and forced parts of one of the territory’s remaining major medical facilities to suspend services.
The incident has drawn renewed attention to the fragile condition of Gaza’s health system and the continuing risks facing patients and medical workers despite the ceasefire that began in October 2025. Israel said it targeted a senior Hamas commander and other operatives whom it alleged were using the hospital complex for military activity. The military’s account and the reports from hospital staff differ sharply on the circumstances surrounding the strike.
Six People Reported Killed In The Strike
Hospital officials identified one of the dead as surgeon Rizk Abu Shaira. The Associated Press also reported that a 13-year-old boy and other patients were among those killed. The Guardian reported that the strike hit the surgery department and damaged several floors, with four departments forced to suspend services. Early figures from Gaza’s civil defence cited at least 20 wounded, while later hospital and AP reporting put the number at 28.
Medical staff described damage to operating rooms, wards and recovery areas. The disruption was especially serious because Nasser Hospital is one of the principal medical facilities serving southern Gaza. The hospital’s surgery services were affected at a time when medical teams were already dealing with shortages of essential medicines, equipment, fuel and specialist staff.
British volunteer surgeon Goher Rahbour, who was working at the hospital, told ITV News that the strike came shortly after midnight and caused extensive damage. Hospital director Ahmed al-Farra said there had been no warning before the attack, according to several reports. These accounts have not been independently reconciled with the Israeli military’s description of the operation.
Israel Says It Targeted Hamas Operatives
The Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet said the operation targeted Muhammad Abu Ismail, whom Israel identified as the commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade, along with other members of the group’s armed wing. The joint statement alleged that Hamas had used parts of the hospital complex as a command centre, weapons storage site and observation point, and said the military had taken steps intended to reduce civilian harm, including precision munitions and aerial surveillance.
The Israeli military said the results of the strike were still under review. The fate of the named commander was not immediately clear in the public reporting. Hamas and hospital officials disputed Israel’s account of the facility’s use, while medical staff said patients and health workers were inside when the strike occurred. The allegations about military activity at the hospital should therefore be treated as claims made by the Israeli military, not as independently established facts.
The competing accounts matter because international humanitarian law gives hospitals and medical personnel special protection. A medical facility does not automatically lose that protection because a party to a conflict alleges military use. Any assessment of whether protection has been lost depends on the facts, the nature of the alleged use, warnings where required, and whether an attack complies with distinction, proportionality and precaution obligations.
WHO Warns Of Further Pressure On Gaza’s Health Services
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said healthcare facilities are lifelines for Gaza’s population and must be protected. A report carrying his November 12 statement said the strike damaged operating rooms, the recovery unit and intensive-care areas. Tedros called for humanitarian access and additional medical and relief supplies, warning that winter conditions could compound the effects of damaged water and sanitation systems.
The WHO has documented 1,056 attacks on healthcare in Gaza since October 2023, resulting in 1,010 deaths and 1,725 injuries, according to the statement reported by Saba News. A separate rapid damage and needs assessment published by the European Union, United Nations and World Bank in April 2026 estimated that more than half of Gaza’s hospitals were non-functional and placed recovery and reconstruction needs at $71.4 billion over the coming decade.
The figures describe a health system under sustained pressure rather than the damage from this single strike alone. Even when a hospital remains open, shortages of medicines, fuel, clean water, specialist staff and functioning equipment can sharply reduce the care it is able to provide. Damage to a surgical department can also affect patients who were not present at the time of an attack but depend on the facility for urgent operations.
Ceasefire Faces Another Test
The strike occurred during a ceasefire that began in October 2025. Reuters and other outlets have reported continued deadly incidents and mutual accusations of violations since the agreement took effect. The attack on Nasser Hospital adds pressure to efforts to preserve the truce and raises questions about the practical protection of civilians and essential services during the current phase of the conflict.
For Gaza’s hospitals, the immediate priority is restoring damaged services and ensuring that patients can be transferred or treated without interruption. For the parties to the conflict and the international actors involved in the ceasefire, the incident underlines the need for credible investigations, reliable humanitarian access and safeguards that prevent medical facilities from becoming battlegrounds.
HeadlinesXtra Analysis
The Nasser Hospital strike illustrates how a single attack can have consequences beyond the immediate casualty count. When a surgical department is damaged, the impact spreads to patients awaiting operations, emergency cases that may arrive later, and neighbouring facilities that must absorb additional demand. In a territory where hospitals already face severe shortages, even a temporary loss of capacity can have lasting consequences.
There are two separate questions that must not be blurred. The first is what happened to civilians and medical services: multiple independent reports confirm six deaths, numerous injuries and damage to hospital departments. The second is whether the hospital was being used for military purposes and whether the strike complied with international law. Israel has made detailed allegations, but those claims require independent scrutiny. The presence of an alleged armed-group target does not remove the obligation to protect patients, staff and other civilians.
The ceasefire’s credibility will be measured not only by diplomatic statements but by whether people can safely access hospitals, whether medical supplies can enter, and whether serious incidents are investigated transparently. Without those protections, a truce may reduce the scale of fighting without delivering meaningful security to civilians who rely on Gaza’s already damaged health system.
Sources And Further Reading
- The Associated Press: Israeli Strike On Gaza Hospital Kills Six, Including A Doctor And A Child — casualty figures, hospital damage and the Israeli military’s stated target.
- Reuters: Israeli Strike On Gaza Hospital Kills Six, Including Surgeon, Medics Say — reporting from Gaza civil defence and the hospital.
- The Guardian: Israeli Airstrike On Nasser Hospital In Gaza Kills Surgeon And Five Others — hospital director’s account and service disruption.
- The Times Of Israel: IDF Targets Top Hamas Commander In Strike On South Gaza Hospital — the Israeli military’s account and allegations.
- Al Jazeera: Israeli Strike On Gaza’s Nasser Hospital Kills Surgeon, Five Others — reporting from medical staff and Al Jazeera’s Gaza correspondents.
- ITV News: Israeli Strike On A Gaza Hospital Kills Six People — account from a British volunteer surgeon and the hospital director.
- Saba News: WHO Warns Of Continued Attacks On Healthcare Facilities In Gaza — WHO Director-General’s November 12 statement and health-service figures.
- United Nations, European Union And World Bank: Gaza Rapid Damage And Needs Assessment — April 2026 assessment of health infrastructure and reconstruction needs.