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An Israeli airstrike on Nasser Hospital, the largest in the southern Gaza Strip, killed at least six people and wounded about 20, according to the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Health Ministry.
Eyewitnesses told the BBC that a missile fired from a military aircraft at night hit a building housing surgical and intensive care units.
The health ministry said health workers, patients and attendants, including surgeon Dr. Rizk Abu Shaira, were killed. It condemned the attack as a "blatant violation of international laws and conventions."
The Israeli military said it targeted the commander of Hamas's armed wing and other militants who were using the hospital as a "headquarters" to plan attacks on Israeli troops.
Hamas said Israel was spreading “false stories” in a “brazen attempt to cover up a new war crime.”
Under international law, hospitals have the status of protected sites, but they were repeatedly targeted during the war in the Gaza Strip.
Israel accuses the group, which maintains control of parts of Gaza that are not occupied by the Israeli military, of cynically exploiting civilian infrastructure. Israel says Hamas stores weapons and operates control centers in hospitals. Hamas denies the accusations.
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Israel does not allow international news outlets, including the BBC, into Gaza, making it difficult to independently assess the situation in the territory.
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In a video posted on social media, a paramedic from the civil defense agency who responded to the building after the early Thursday morning strike said the missile hit a surgical ward.
A spokesman for the civil defense agency, which reports to the Hamas-led Interior Ministry, initially said the strike killed five and wounded 20 others.
Videos posted by activists showed thick smoke inside the building and widespread destruction on the second floor, where medical equipment and beds were scattered in the explosion.
Local activists also spread information that the strike may have targeted a senior Hamas security official holed up inside the building.
In a conversation with reporters immediately after the strike, the director of the Nasser Hospital said that the building was struck by a vertical blow, which led to significant damage.
In August 2025, Nasser Hospital was hit by a double Israeli military strike that killed at least 20 people, including journalists and medical workers.
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Despite a ceasefire agreed to last October, Israeli attacks on Gaza continue.
More than 1,620 people have died since then, according to estimates from the territory's health ministry, which the United Nations considers reliable.
Israel and Hamas accuse each other of violating the truce.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza was worsened by heavy rains that flooded tens of thousands of tents housing displaced families.
The Gaza War began with a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people and took 251 hostage.
More than 74,650 people have died in Gaza since then, according to the health ministry.
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