Israeli strike on Gaza hospital kills six

INTERNATIONAL BUREAU —Israeli strikes killed 11 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, including six people at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, in the deadliest single attack since Israel's inconclusive elections last month, according to Palestinian health officials. The Israeli military confirmed striking the medical complex in Khan Yunis, claiming it had targeted Muhammad Abu Ismail, commander of Hamas's Khan Yunis brigade, and others allegedly hiding inside the hospital.

Hamas denied using the hospital for military purposes, describing Israel's justification as a "false narrative" intended to legitimise its airstrikes. Hamas have repeatedly accused Israel of violating the US-backed ceasefire agreement that came into effect in October 2025. Nasser Hospital confirmed six deaths, while a doctor said nearly 30 people had been wounded.

A British surgeon volunteering at the facility, Goher Rahbour, told AFP that a Palestinian doctor with whom he had performed surgery on Wednesday evening was among those killed. Five other Palestinians were killed in separate incidents across the territory on Thursday. These included two people in central Gaza, one in an Israeli gunfire incident near Al-Bureij camp and another in a drone strike targeting a vehicle near Deir al-Balah.

Two more people were killed in a strike on a vehicle near Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital, while another died in a drone attack in Jabalia, northern Gaza. Israel confirmed strikes in Deir al-Balah and Gaza City but disputed that the latter occurred near Al-Shifa Hospital.