An Israeli airstrike targeted what the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet described as a Hamas cell operating from Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip. The military confirmed the operation on Thursday, November 12, saying the cell was planning attacks from inside the hospital.
According to the military, the strike took place overnight between Wednesday and Thursday. Hamas-linked media in Gaza reported that six people were killed. The IDF had not announced a specific casualty figure, leaving the reported death toll without confirmation from the Israeli military in its account of the operation.
The military said Hamas members had established themselves within the hospital complex and were using it as a command center. It alleged that activities directed from the site included military operations and attacks against Israeli troops and the State of Israel. Those allegations formed part of the military's explanation for targeting the cell at the hospital.
In describing the alleged use of the complex, the IDF said weapons were being stored on hospital grounds and command-and-control rooms were operating there. It also accused Hamas members of using hospital facilities as observation positions and as places to take shelter, citing these among several examples of military activity at the site.
The military's allegations also concerned the activities of Hamas's internal security and intelligence services. It said those services had conducted interrogations and torture inside the hospital complex. The statement presented those accusations alongside its claims about weapons storage, command facilities and the use of the premises by Hamas members.
The IDF characterized the activities it described as a violation of international law. It accused Hamas of exploiting civilian infrastructure for military purposes, pointing to the alleged operations inside the medical complex as the basis for that criticism.
Both the IDF and Shin Bet, Israel's security agency, condemned what they described as Hamas's exploitation of civilian and medical facilities. According to the military statement, the agencies said such use put patients, medical workers and other civilians at risk.
The IDF also said it had taken measures before the airstrike to reduce harm to civilians. Its account did not specify what those measures involved or provide a confirmed number of casualties from the overnight operation.
