Israeli forces on Thursday raided the biggest hospital still functioning in southern Gaza in an effort to retrieve the bodies of hostages which may be in the complex, a military spokesperson said.
The operation at Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis came after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) attempted to evacuate thousands of displaced people who had sought refuge at the facility. Military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the raid was executed after Israel received “credible intelligence from a number of sources” that Hamas had held hostages at the hospital and that the remains of some captives could still be inside.
He added that IDF troops launched a “precise and limited operation” inside the hospital, claiming that “Hamas terrorists are likely hiding behind injured civilians inside Nasser hospital right now.” Hamas has denied the allegations. Sharon Alony Cunio, one of the 250 people abducted from Israel during Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attacks, claimed after being released that she and other captives had been held in Nasser.
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Another 1,200 people died in the Hamas attacks, Israel says. According to Palestinian health officials, Israel’s retaliatory military operations in Gaza have killed over 28,600 people, while almost all of the enclave’s more than 2 million population have been displaced. Israeli military actions in and around hospitals have drawn condemnation and calls for restraint over the course of the four-month-old conflict. Israel maintains that Hamas exploits such facilities, making them legitimate military targets.
Medical charity Medicins San Frontieres (MSF) said Israel began shelling Nasser in the early hours Thursday “despite Israeli Forces having told medical staff and patients they could remain in the facility.” “[O]ur staff reported a chaotic situation, with an undetermined number of people killed and injured,” read an MSF post on X, adding that one of the group’s colleagues was unaccounted for. It also said its medical staff had been forced to flee the hospital, leaving patients behind.
Addressing the IDF, MSF said: “We call on them to immediately stop this attack, as it endangers medical staff and patients who are still stuck inside the facility.”
Hamas in a statement said the storming of Nasser is a “continuation of the war of extermination,” al Jazeera reports. “The occupation continues to challenge international laws that see hospitals as protected places,” the group said. “The whole world is watching without taking any serious and effective action to stop it, despite all calls and appeals.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Hamas’ most recent offer for a ceasefire. The Palestinian militants said they would release all of their remaining captives in exchange for Israel completely withdrawing from Gaza and releasing 1,500 prisoners, including senior commanders. Netanyahu called the demands “delusional” and has vowed to deliver a “total victory” over Hamas.
