Israeli Strike on Gaza's Nasser Hospital Kills Six; Israel Cites Hamas Commander, Hamas Denies

An Israeli airstrike on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, killed six people and wounded at least a dozen on Thursday, Gaza's Health Ministry said. The hospital, one of the few medical facilities still working in the territory, closed its emergency, surgery, radiology and laboratory departments afterward, officials said.

Hospital director Dr. Ahmed al-Farra said two missiles hit the complex and that the dead included surgeon Rezeq Abu Shaira, 52; local health officials put the injured at 28. The Israeli military and security agency said they targeted Muhammad Abu Ismail, a Hamas commander they linked to holding hostages, and claimed Hamas ran a command center and stored weapons there. A military spokeswoman said another victim, Khaled Abu Anza, was a Hamas operative. Hamas called the claim a “blatant attempt to justify a heinous crime targeting a civilian medical facility.”

Left-leaning outlets CBS News and The New York Times lead with the health ministry toll, then set out Israel's justification and Hamas's rejection. CBS stresses that Israel offered no evidence, cites an AP journalist describing a wrecked second floor, and recalls the 2025 killing of five journalists at the complex. The Times names the dead and adds that residents say Hamas-linked officials sometimes use hospitals as offices. The Intercept, an alternative outlet, leads with volunteer doctors who worked there, quoting one: “They just hit Nasser again.” Its headline stresses a U.S.-made missile, and it calls this at least the seventh attack on Nasser since 2023. Middle East Eye separately reports six killed in Friday strikes elsewhere in Gaza. Right-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing.