Israeli Strike on Gaza's Nasser Hospital Kills Six Including Surgeon, Wounds More Than 20
An Israeli airstrike on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, killed at least six people, including a surgeon, and wounded more than 20 others early on Thursday, November 12, 2026, Gaza's civil defence service and the hospital said. The strike hit the surgery department of the Nasser Medical Complex, causing extensive damage to the building, as a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that took effect in October 2025 continues to fray.
What We Know So Far
Short answer: An Israeli airstrike early on Thursday, November 12, 2026, hit the second floor of the Al-Yasin building at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, killing six people, including surgeon Dr Rezik Abushira, and wounding more than 20 others. Gaza's civil defence said the strike hit the surgery department and caused extensive damage to the intensive care and surgical wards. The Israeli military confirmed the strike, saying it targeted a senior Hamas operative and other members of the group's military wing operating inside the hospital complex.
The Strike on Nasser Hospital
Gaza civil defence spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal told Reuters and AFP that the early-morning strike hit the surgery department on the second floor of the Al-Yasin building inside the Nasser Medical Complex in western Khan Younis, causing extensive damage. Medics at the hospital identified the dead surgeon as Dr Rezik Abushira. Pictures from the hospital published by Reuters showed collapsed ceilings, dangling cables and rubble strewn across damaged rooms.
Initial reports put the death toll at four, before civil defence teams revised it to six killed and more than 20 wounded as search-and-rescue personnel cleared the debris. Nasser Hospital confirmed the six deaths in a statement. Gaza's civil defence, a rescue agency operating under Hamas authority, said the bodies of those killed and more than 20 wounded people had been recovered from the building at the medical complex.
What Israel Says
The Israeli military confirmed the strike on Thursday, saying it was carried out jointly with the Shin Bet security service and targeted a senior Hamas operative and additional members of the group's military wing who were operating inside the hospital complex. There was no immediate information from the military on the identities of those targeted or whether they were among the six people reported killed.
Israeli military spokeswoman Lt Col Ella Waweya said on X that the military had struck the Nasser hospital overnight, claiming the site was being used as a Hamas military command centre. A Hamas spokesperson described the strike as a war crime, and Gaza's Health Ministry called on the international community to intervene and protect Gaza's health system.
The strike came amid continued Israeli attacks across Gaza despite the ceasefire agreement that took effect on October 10, 2025. According to Gaza's Health Ministry, at least 1,622 Palestinians have been killed and 5,878 wounded in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire took effect, while Israel says four soldiers have been killed in the same period. The ministry puts the cumulative Palestinian death toll since the start of the war on October 7, 2023, at 74,653, with 176,007 wounded.
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What Happens Next
The strike is the latest test of a ceasefire that has been strained by repeated deadly incidents on both sides. The hospital strike followed the killing of at least six Palestinians in Israeli airstrikes and gunfire across Gaza on Wednesday, including in Gaza City and the Bureij refugee camp, according to local reports. Whether the incident draws a formal international response — or further strains the truce — will depend on what the Israeli military says about who was targeted and whether any of those killed were the operatives it named. For the latest developments on this story, follow our continuing world news coverage here.
Why This Matters
Nasser Medical Complex is the main hospital serving southern Gaza, and a strike on its surgery and intensive care wards hits a health system already under severe strain after more than three years of war. The killing of a surgeon inside the hospital, and the damage to wards treating the wounded, underline why attacks on medical facilities draw such intense scrutiny — and why the competing claims about who was inside the building matter so much. Israel says the site was being used as a Hamas command centre; Gaza's Health Ministry calls the strike a war crime. With more than 1,600 Palestinians killed since the October 2025 ceasefire took effect, each new incident raises the same question: how much longer can the truce hold.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened at Nasser Hospital in Gaza?
An Israeli airstrike early on Thursday, November 12, 2026, hit the second floor of the Al-Yasin building at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. The strike hit the surgery department and caused extensive damage to the intensive care and surgical wards.
How many people were killed and wounded in the Nasser Hospital strike?
At least six people were killed, including surgeon Dr Rezik Abushira, and more than 20 others were wounded, according to Gaza's civil defence service and Nasser Hospital. Initial reports put the toll at four before it was revised to six.
Who was the surgeon killed in the strike?
Medics identified the dead surgeon as Dr Rezik Abushira, who worked at the Nasser Medical Complex. He was among the six people killed when the strike hit the surgery department.
What did Israel say about the strike?
The Israeli military confirmed the strike, saying it was carried out jointly with the Shin Bet security service and targeted a senior Hamas operative and additional members of the group's military wing operating inside the hospital complex. An Israeli military spokeswoman said the site was being used as a Hamas military command centre.
Is there still a ceasefire in Gaza?
A U.S.-brokered ceasefire took effect on October 10, 2025, but it has been strained by repeated deadly incidents. Gaza's Health Ministry says at least 1,622 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire took effect, while Israel says four soldiers have been killed in the same period.
How many people have been killed in Gaza since October 2023?
Gaza's Health Ministry puts the cumulative Palestinian death toll since the start of the war on October 7, 2023, at 74,653, with 176,007 wounded.
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