Nasser Hospital strike kills at least six, Palestinian officials report

November 13, 9:15pm Sydney update

The World Health Organization said the Nasser Medical Complex surgery department was hit, with six deaths including a health worker, patients and companions, and at least 27 people injured. This adds a separately attributed assessment; it does not reconcile earlier differing injury counts into a final total.

UN Middle East coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov said the attack and wider violence jeopardised an increasingly fragile ceasefire. He stressed that hospitals and medical personnel must be protected under international humanitarian law and must not be targeted or used for military purposes. WHO says it has documented more than 1,000 attacks on healthcare in Gaza since October 2023.

Earlier reporting retained for context

An Israeli strike on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis killed at least six Palestinians, including a surgeon, according to Palestinian officials cited by published reporting on November 12. The published report also reports a child among those killed. The accounts place the attack shortly after midnight and describe damage to the surgery area. These casualty reports are attributed to local officials and hospital sources; this publication has not independently counted the dead.

The reports differ on the number injured. The published report cites at least 20 wounded, while the published report quotes a civil-defence spokesman saying 40 were injured, including two doctors in critical condition. These figures should not be added together or treated as a final reconciled total. The hospital director told the published report that the strike damaged surgery and intensive-care facilities; he warned that the death toll could rise.

The Israeli military said it targeted a Hamas brigade commander and other members who it alleged were hiding in the hospital. Published reporting indicated asking whether the commander was killed and what measures were taken to reduce civilian harm. The material checked here does not independently verify the claimed target's presence or death. Hamas condemned the attack and rejected Israel's account as a justification for striking a civilian medical facility. Those opposing statements are claims by parties to the conflict, not findings adopted by this article.

The attack comes amid a separate shelter emergency as rain floods displacement camps. Published reporting indicates a UN appeal for waterproof tents and faster aid access; Published reporting indicates calls by the US-led Board of Peace for shelter, sanitation and drainage supplies. Flooding figures and earlier attack tolls concern different incidents and should not be merged with the hospital's six reported deaths. This report does not establish a final casualty total or a legal determination of responsibility. The accompanying empty-corridor photograph is illustrative and is not Nasser Hospital, a strike scene or evidence of the damage.