Israel’s military struck the largest hospital in southern Gaza on Sunday night, killing a senior Hamas official and a teenager, while wounding others and causing a large fire.
Ismail Barhoum, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, was being treated at the hospital when he was killed, the group said in a statement.
A 16-year-old boy who underwent surgery two days ago also died in the strike, according to the health authorities.
The strike hit the surgical building of Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis, Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said, days after the facility was overwhelmed with dead and wounded when Israel resumed the war on the militant group last week with a surprise wave of airstrikes.
Israel’s military confirmed the strike on the hospital, with Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz saying Barhoum was the target. It said extensive intelligence was followed, using precise munitions to minimise harm.
Nevertheless, medical staff said multiple people were wounded, and the hospital's surgical ward for male patients was destroyed.
Like other medical facilities around Gaza, Nasser Hospital has been damaged by Israeli raids and strikes throughout the war.
Meanwhile, at least 25 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip, three hospitals announced on Monday.
The Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City received 11 bodies from strikes overnight into Monday, including three women and four children. One of the strikes killed two children, their parents, their grandmother and their uncle.
The Nasser Hospital received seven bodies from strikes overnight and four from strikes the previous day. The European Hospital received three bodies from a strike near Khan Younis.
One dead in northern Israel shooting
Separately, Israeli media also reported that one person was killed and another wounded in a suspected terror attack near the northern Israeli city of Yokne'am.
Israeli police said the suspect drove a car into a bus stop, attempting to run people over before exiting his vehicle and opening fire on passing vehicles. A border police officer then shot the suspect at the scene.
A 70-year-old man who was left in critical condition died from his gunshot wounds, according to Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service. Another 20-year-old man was brought to hospital with stab wounds and remains in critical condition, it added.
The ceasefire that took hold in January paused more than a year of fighting ignited by Hamas' 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, in which militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostage. Most captives have been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
In the latest ceasefire's first phase, 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight others were released in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces allowed hundreds of thousands of people to return home. There was a surge in humanitarian aid until Israel cut off all supplies to Gaza earlier this month.
The sides were supposed to begin negotiations in early February on the ceasefire's next phase, in which Hamas was to release the remaining 59 hostages — 35 of them believed to be dead — in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Those talks never took place.
