Israeli Strike Hits Gaza's Nasser Hospital, Killing Six, Officials Say
An Israeli airstrike hit the surgical wing of Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis early Thursday, killing six people and wounding at least a dozen others, according to Gaza health officials.[1]
Gaza's Health Ministry said the dead included general surgeon Rizk Abu Shaira, a senior physician at the facility, and that the strike tore through one of the few remaining fully functioning hospitals in the territory.[1] The Israeli military said it had targeted a Hamas commander and other militants inside the complex, claiming without providing evidence that Hamas had turned part of the hospital into a headquarters.[1]
Israeli officials have long accused Hamas of operating from within or near medical facilities, allegations Hamas and hospital staff routinely deny, and which human rights groups say are difficult to independently verify under wartime restrictions. Nasser Hospital in particular has repeatedly been at the center of that fight; Israeli forces previously raided it during earlier phases of the war, and a 2025 Israeli strike on the hospital complex killed five journalists, according to prior reports cited by NPR.[1]
The attack comes as Gaza's health system teeters after years of bombardment, sieges and repeated incursions by Israeli troops that have left most clinics and hospitals damaged, short of staff, or shut down entirely. Nasser Hospital is described by health authorities and aid groups as one of the few facilities still capable of performing complex surgery, making any hit on its operating units especially consequential for civilians and fighters alike who are wounded in ongoing clashes and airstrikes.[1]
The Gaza Health Ministry says more than 74,600 people have been killed in the territory since the war erupted on October 7, 2023, a toll that includes fighters and civilians but that the ministry does not publicly break down by category.[1] Despite a U.S.-backed ceasefire that formally took effect in October 2025, Israeli strikes and cross-border gunfire have continued, killing 1,622 people in Gaza and leaving five Israeli soldiers dead in that period, according to the same ministry figures.[1] Those numbers underscore how what was billed diplomatically as a truce has instead evolved into a lower-intensity but still deadly phase of conflict in which hospitals remain on the front line.
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📌 Key Facts
- An Israeli airstrike early Thursday, November 12, 2026, hit the surgical wing of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, killing six people, including general surgeon Rizk Abu Shaira, and wounding at least a dozen others, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, as reported by NPR/AP.
- The Israeli military said it targeted a Hamas commander and other militants at Nasser Hospital, claiming Hamas had established a presence in the hospital complex and that the commander had turned it into a headquarters, though it did not provide evidence for these assertions.
- Nasser Hospital is described as one of the few remaining functioning medical facilities in Gaza after years of war and previous raids and sieges by Israeli forces.
- The NPR report notes that Nasser Hospital has been attacked multiple times previously, including a 2025 Israeli strike on the complex that killed five journalists.
- According to the Gaza Health Ministry figures cited by NPR, more than 74,600 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023.
- The same NPR article reports that since a U.S.-backed ceasefire took effect in October 2025, Israeli strikes and gunfire have killed 1,622 people in Gaza and five Israeli soldiers have been killed in that period.
📰 Source Timeline (2)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- NPR/AP confirm that an Israeli airstrike early Thursday, November 12, 2026, hit Nasser Hospital's surgical wing in Khan Younis, killing six people including general surgeon Rizk Abu Shaira and wounding at least a dozen others, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
- The Israeli military states it struck a Hamas commander and other militants at the hospital, asserting Hamas had established a presence within the Nasser Hospital complex and that the commander had turned it into a headquarters, but it did not provide evidence for these claims.
- The article reiterates that Nasser Hospital is one of the few functioning medical facilities remaining in Gaza after years of war and previous raids and sieges by Israeli forces, and notes prior Israeli attacks on the hospital including a 2025 strike that killed five journalists at the complex.
- The piece restates current cumulative casualty figures from the Gaza Health Ministry: more than 74,600 people killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023, and 1,622 people killed by Israeli strikes and gunfire since a U.S.-backed ceasefire took effect in October 2025, alongside five Israeli soldiers killed in that period.