Israel Bombs Nasser Hospital in Gaza to Eliminate "Key Terrorist"

An Israeli airstrike hit a hospital in southern Gaza on Sunday night, two doctors working at the hospital told CNN. Part of the hospital was set ablaze, causing multiple casualties.

Israeli forces confirmed responsibility for the attack, stating that it "precisely hit a key terrorist from the Hamas terrorist organization operating inside," but did not reveal the identity of the target. Hospitals are entitled to special protection during armed conflict under international humanitarian law and may only be attacked in extremely limited circumstances, such as if they are being used to actively commit “an act harmful to the enemy,” according to the Geneva Conventions.
The second floor of the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis was hit, Dr. Tanya Haj Hassan, a pediatrician with Medical Aid for Palestinians, told CNN.

The attack hit the male surgical unit, causing multiple casualties, according to Dr. Mark Perlmutter, an American doctor currently in Gaza. Perlmutter said European and American teams were working at the hospital when the airstrike occurred.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza blamed Israel for the attack, stating that “the occupation forces just attacked the surgical building within the Nasser Medical Complex, which houses numerous patients and wounded, causing a large fire at the site.” Israeli forces accuse Hamas of using "civilian infrastructure while brutally endangering the population of Gaza" and vowed to "continue operations against the Hamas terrorist organization and eliminate any threat to Israeli civilians."

The attack on this hospital in Gaza comes on the same day that the enclave's Health Ministry stated that the death toll from Israeli attacks since October 7, 2023, has surpassed 50,000.