Israeli Airstrike on Nasser Hospital in Southern Gaza Kills Six, Halts Surgical Operations

Early Thursday, November 12, an Israeli airstrike hit the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, killing at least six people and wounding more than 20. The targeted bombardment struck the second floor of the Al-Yasin building, severely damaging the facility's intensive care and surgical wards.[2][7]

The precision strike forced an immediate shutdown of operations in the hospital's surgical ward, leaving critical patients without access to life-saving care. Medical staff, admitted patients, and displaced families sheltering inside the complex were among the casualties pulled from the concrete rubble.[4][7]

Medics quickly identified one of the fatalities as Rezik Abushira, a dedicated surgeon working the night shift at the hospital. The death toll rose steadily through the early hours of Thursday as rescue workers navigated the extensively damaged corridors to reach those trapped under the debris.[6][7]

Mahmoud Basal, the official spokesperson for Gaza's Civil Defense, confirmed the rising casualty count in a statement early Thursday. "The death toll from the Israeli strike inside Nasser Medical Complex, west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, has risen to six," Basal stated to reporters.[6][7]

Military Justification

Israeli Army Radio described the early morning bombardment as an "assassination operation," though the military did not immediately provide further details regarding the specific target. The Israel Defense Forces have not issued a formal public comment on the strike or presented evidence of militant activity in the ward.[2][3][6]

The attack marks another severe blow to Gaza's decimated healthcare system, which has been under relentless pressure for three years. Nasser Hospital stands as one of the few remaining partially functional medical centers in the southern part of the territory, serving a massive population of displaced civilians.[2][4]

Thousands of displaced Palestinians had been sheltering in the hospital courtyard and surrounding buildings, seeking refuge from ongoing bombardments across the enclave. The sudden strike on the Al-Yasin building sent panic through the crowded complex, forcing many families to flee into the dark amid the chaos.[2][7]

The Khan Younis strike occurred amid continued violations of the October 2025 ceasefire agreement, which has repeatedly fractured under renewed hostilities. Local emergency services reported that Israeli strikes had killed seven other people earlier in the week, including a 13-year-old boy, while the military claimed it targeted "military operatives."[2][7]

Ceasefire Violations

Violence has persisted across the territory in recent days, driving the casualty count higher. Five Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza City and the Bureij refugee camp on Wednesday, and a sixth died from wounds sustained in a separate Tuesday strike.[2][7]

Since the war began in October 2023, Gaza health authorities report that more than 74,600 Palestinians have been killed in the ongoing bombardments. Nearly 176,000 others have been wounded over the past three years, with women and children making up the vast majority of the documented casualties.[2][6]

The protracted three-year conflict has destroyed an estimated 90 percent of the territory's infrastructure, leaving basic civilian services in absolute ruins. Medical facilities have repeatedly been caught in the crossfire, severely limiting the capacity of doctors to treat the daily influx of wounded civilians.[2][4][6]

The blockade on the territory has severely restricted the flow of essential medical supplies, including anesthetics, antibiotics, and sterile surgical equipment. Doctors at Nasser Hospital have frequently reported being forced to perform procedures under harrowing conditions, often relying on flashlights and unsterilized tools.[2][4]

Infrastructure Destruction

International humanitarian law dictates that hospitals and medical personnel must be protected during armed conflict. The Israeli military has consistently maintained that Hamas uses medical facilities for military purposes, a claim that hospital administrators and local health officials vehemently deny.[3][7]

This is not the first time the Nasser Medical Complex has been targeted during the prolonged conflict. The facility has faced multiple bombardments and military sieges, steadily degrading its structural integrity and its ability to provide critical care to the population of Khan Younis.[3][4]

During previous military incursions into Khan Younis, the hospital grounds became a focal point of intense urban combat. The surrounding neighborhoods have been largely flattened, leaving the medical complex as an isolated hub for both emergency healthcare and civilian shelter.[2][3][4]

The complete shutdown of the Al-Yasin building's surgical ward leaves southern Gaza with virtually no capacity for complex medical operations. Patients requiring urgent surgical intervention now face life-threatening delays, as transferring them to other facilities remains highly dangerous and logistically impossible.[2][4]

Ongoing Rescue Efforts

Rescue operations continued deep into Thursday morning as civil defense teams searched the concrete rubble of the damaged wards. Officials warned that the death toll could rise further given the high number of critically wounded individuals and the severe lack of available intensive care beds.[2][7]

The tragic death of Dr. Abushira adds to the hundreds of healthcare workers killed since the conflict began in October 2023. Medical organizations have repeatedly called for the strict protection of doctors and nurses operating in the war zone, citing the catastrophic loss of irreplaceable medical expertise.[6][7]

The loss of specialized surgeons like Abushira creates a compounding crisis for the surviving population. Training a trauma surgeon takes over a decade, and the systematic depletion of Gaza's medical professionals will hamper the territory's recovery for generations to come.[4][6]

The early morning bombing forces displaced families sheltering at the hospital to pack their meager belongings and relocate once again. With much of Khan Younis and the broader southern Gaza region in ruins, designated safe zones for civilians have become increasingly scarce and dangerously overcrowded.[2][7]

Shrinking Safe Zones

The hospital strike coincides with broader regional instability, as the multi-front conflict continues to draw in neighboring actors and trigger cross-border missile exchanges. Despite ongoing international mediation efforts, the severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza remains the volatile epicenter of the ongoing violence.[2][3]

Diplomatic channels have struggled to enforce the terms of the October 2025 ceasefire, with both sides accusing the other of fundamental breaches. The continued bombardment of civilian infrastructure has drawn sharp condemnation from international human rights observers monitoring the conflict.[2][6][7]

Hospital administrators are currently assessing the structural integrity of the Al-Yasin building to determine if any part of the surgical ward can be safely salvaged. The immediate focus remains on stabilizing the 20 wounded survivors amid severe, ongoing shortages of medical supplies and reliable electricity.[2][7]

The survival of the critically injured patients now depends entirely on the hospital's ability to restore emergency power and basic surgical capacity in the coming days. Without immediate intervention and fresh supplies, local health officials warn that the casualty count from the Thursday morning strike will inevitably climb.[4][7]