Israeli Strike on Gaza's Nasser Hospital Kills Six, Including a Surgeon; IDF Says It Hit Hamas Commander

An Israeli airstrike hit the surgical buildings at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, in the early hours of Thursday, Nov. 12. It killed six people.

The number wounded varies by source. The Gaza Health Ministry said at least a dozen. Civil defense put it above 20. Hospital director Dr. Ahmed al-Fara said 28.

What the strike hit

The attack came at roughly 12:30 a.m. local time, with no warning, according to Dr. Ayman Abu Ubaid, a surgical specialist at the complex who was wounded. Paramedic Ezzedin Abu Sabha made the same claim and said F-16 aircraft carried out the strike.

Mahmoud Bassal, spokesman for Gaza's civil defense agency, said six bodies were recovered from the building. A medical source said it was the surgery ward.

Al-Fara said the strike destroyed part of the surgery department and damaged several floors. Radiology, laboratories, surgical operations and inpatient surgical wards have all suspended services. Middle East Eye, citing The New York Times, reported that two missiles struck the building's roof, penetrating the third floor before exploding on the second.

Among the dead was Dr. Rizk Abu Shaira, a general surgeon who appeared in the documentary American Doctor. The Guardian gave his age as 52; Middle East Eye reported he was 53. The Palestinian Ministry of Health said he was treating patients when the strike hit. Gaza health officials also said a disabled man and at least one child were killed. The Guardian reported that Abu Shaira died alongside a patient he had operated on.

"Dr Rizk was in the American Doctor documentary operating and serving his people," Dr. Thaer Ahmad, who also appeared in the film, wrote on X.

The Israeli military's account

The Israeli military confirmed it carried out the strike. It said it targeted "a senior terrorist and additional Hamas terrorists" who were hiding in the hospital.

A joint statement from the IDF and Shin Bet named Khaled Abu Anza, also known as Abu Osama, as commander of Hamas's Khan Younis Brigade, and said he was killed. Another Israeli military statement named a Khan Younis brigade commander as Mohammed Abu Ismail. The names given for the commander are not consistent.

The IDF also identified Mourad Abu Zurifa, whom it accused of taking part in the Oct. 7 kidnapping of Adina Moshe, as one of the six dead.

The joint statement said the men were "advancing terror plans against Israeli civilians and IDF forces." The military further alleged Hamas stored weapons at the complex, ran command-and-control facilities there, and used hospital buildings as observation posts. Israel's foreign ministry accused Hamas of using the complex for interrogation and torture.

The military has not provided evidence for these claims.

Hamas and Gaza officials respond

Hamas denies using Nasser Hospital for military purposes. In a statement it called Israel's claims "repeated lies intended to provide cover for the systematic targeting of the healthcare sector."

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem called the strike a "fully-fledged war crime." He said the U.S.-backed Board of Peace, which oversees the Gaza ceasefire plan, was responsible for failing to prevent it.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health called the attack a flagrant violation of international law.

Ceasefire, politics and the hospital's history

A U.S.-backed ceasefire took effect in October 2025. Israel and Hamas routinely accuse each other of violating it. AFP described Thursday's strike as the deadliest single strike since Israel's elections last month.

Israel is run by a caretaker government under Benjamin Netanyahu after an inconclusive vote. Opposition bloc leader Gadi Eisenkot has been officially tasked with forming a new administration. Netanyahu has called for a unity government.

A seventh person was killed Thursday by Israeli fire in the Al-Bureij camp in central Gaza, Bassal said. Al-Aqsa Hospital confirmed receiving the body. The Israeli military said it was looking into that death.

Nasser is not new to this. In August 2025, an Israeli strike on the complex killed five journalists, including the AP's Mariam Dagga. The hospital has been attacked at least seven times since the war began in October 2023, according to the Guardian and Middle East Eye.

The wider health system is badly damaged. The Guardian cites UN experts putting destruction or damage to Gaza's health infrastructure at about 90%. The World Health Organization says 94% of Gaza's hospitals have been fully or partially destroyed. The Guardian also reported that more than 1,700 health workers have been killed in Gaza. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says at least 95 detained medics remain in Israeli custody.

Nasser remains the last major referral hospital operating in southern Gaza, according to Middle East Eye. Its surgical capacity is now suspended. The Guardian reported that the patients in the department were all surgical patients waiting to undergo operations.

The Israeli military has not provided evidence of what was inside the building, and Hamas rejects the claim outright. Whether the Board of Peace will respond to Hamas's demand, and what the Israeli military's review of the Al-Bureij death finds, are still unanswered.