Nasser Hospital in the Gaza Strip was struck by an Israeli airstrike last night, the United Nations said Thursday, leaving six people dead, 27 injured and the medical facility extensively damaged. Deputy spokesman Farhan Haq conveyed the reaction, saying: “The Special Coordinator ad interim is deeply alarmed by the Israeli airstrike on Nasser Hospital in Gaza last night, which killed six people, injured 27 others, and caused extensive damage to the facility,”
Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN Special Coordinator for Middle East Peace Process ad interim, said the ongoing violence and recent increase in military operations exacerbate the immense human suffering in Gaza. Haq added that the same developments jeopardize the increasingly fragile ceasefire.
Gaza’s Civil Defense said the strike hit the second floor of the Al-Yasin building at Nasser Medical Complex in western Khan Younis, killing six people and injuring 30 others. The hospital director said the intensive care and surgical wards sustained extensive damage.
Israeli Army Radio described the attack as an “assassination operation” but provided no details. Haq said international humanitarian law obliges all parties to protect and respect medical personnel and medical facilities, including hospitals, adding: “Such facilities must not be targeted or used for military purposes.”
Haq relayed the special coordinator’s appeal for humanitarian access, saying: “The special coordinator reiterates his call for rapid, safe, and unimpeded access for humanitarian assistance, including the entry of durable shelter materials and winterization items to ease the suffering of the population as the coldest months approach,” he said. The deputy spokesman also referred to Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Tedros said Gaza’s health facilities are “lifelines” for its people. Haq added that since October 2023, the World Health Organization has documented more than 1,000 attacks on healthcare in Gaza, resulting in deaths, injuries, and damaged facilities.
Haq said a separate strike Thursday hit the vicinity of UN facilities in Deir al-Balah, where UN staff are sheltering. Explaining that the reason for the strike was for Israeli authorities to answer, he said: “It's not our place to determine why the strike occurred. That's really for the Israeli authorities to answer, but it was near our facility,”
A journalist questioned why neither UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres nor the WHO had condemned the strike, describing the attack on a health facility as a “crime against humanity,” before asking: “Why is Palestinian blood so cheap that it doesn't generate condemnation?” Haq replied: “I'm well aware that you wish that you could be the one writing these statements, but Mr. Alakbarov and Dr. Tedros have both come out against this attack,” and added: “Both of them have reminded Israel of its legal obligations not to attack health facilities, and we continue to stand by that.”
Haq said the UN had used the phrase “condemnation many, many times,” before explaining how it addresses the fighting. He said: “If the word 'condemn' had magic properties to halt the fighting, we would use it much more frequently. But the simple fact is, we do remind parties of their legal obligations. We do work with all the parties, on all the governments, including those of the Security Council, to make sure that those legal obligations are met.”
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