Update · 12 Nov 2026, 9:50 AM PKT: Gaza's civil defence service put the death toll from the strike at five. Its spokesperson Mahmoud Basal had earlier told AFP that six people were killed.
Medics named the surgeon killed in the attack as Rezik Abushira.
At least six people have been killed after an Israeli air attack struck a building at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, an official from the Hamas-run civil defence agency said.
The strike hit the hospital’s surgery department in Khan Younis early on Thursday, wounding at least 20 people and causing extensive damage, according to spokesperson Mahmoud Basal, who spoke to the AFP news agency. A surgeon is reported to be among the dead.
Israeli military yet to respond to hospital strike
The Israeli military had not issued an immediate response to the claims. Requests for comment have also been sent to the Israel Defense Forces.
Israel does not allow independent reporting from inside the Gaza Strip, so the details of the incident could not be verified independently.
Nasser Hospital and civil defence recovery efforts
Nasser Hospital is the largest in southern Gaza. It was struck by a double Israeli strike in August 2025 that killed at least 20 people, including journalists and health workers.
Recovery work is carried out by the Civil Defence, which operates under the Hamas-run interior ministry, with support from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Ceasefire strains and mounting death toll in Gaza
Israeli strikes have continued despite a ceasefire agreement reached in October last year. Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says more than 1,600 people have been killed since then, and the UN considers its figures reliable.
Israel and Hamas have each accused the other of violating the truce. Meanwhile, heavy rains reportedly flooded tens of thousands of tents sheltering displaced families, deepening the humanitarian crisis.
The war began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage. The health ministry says more than 74,645 people have since been killed in Gaza.
