Israel kills Hamas official in Nasser hospital strike

Israel military in Sunday night stuck at Nasser hospital in southern Gaza, killing five people including a Hamas official, the Health Ministry said.

Israel confirming the airstrike said that it had targeted key figure in the Palestinian group.

The Gaza Health Ministry said the strike hit the surgery department at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

The Israeli military said its attack followed extensive intelligence and used precise munitions to minimise harm at the site.

Hamas also confirmed the development stated that a member of its political office, Ismail Barhoum, had been killed.

Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, confirmed the target was Barhoum. The military did not name the target, which it described only as “a key terrorist” in Hamas.

Hamas’ Al-Aqsa TV said Barhoum was being treated at the hospital for wounds sustained in a previous attack.

Video on social media showed a fire blazing on the third storey of what appeared to be the hospital. Reuters could not immediately verify the footage.

After two months of relative calm in the war, Gazans have again been fleeing for their lives after Israel effectively abandoned a ceasefire, launching a new all-out air and ground campaign on Tuesday against Hamas.

Moreover, another Hamas leader, Salah al-Bardaweel, was killed in a separate strike in Khan Younis on Saturday.

Both Hamas and Israeli military confirmed the killing.

Both Bardaweel and Barhoum were members of the 19-member Hamas decision-making body, the political office, 11 of whom have been killed since the start of the war in late 2023, according to Hamas sources.