Palestine: MSF condemns another deadly attack on Nasser hospital
Airstrike on Nasser hospital in Khan Younis kills six people, including a child and a surgeon
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is utterly appalled and outraged by the Israeli airstrike on Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, last night. The airstrike hit Nasser’s surgery building, killing six people, including a child and a surgeon, and injuring 52 others. No warning was given before the attack. Among the injured, MSF has already treated two doctors and a third patient, all of whom required surgery, in a separate building. The hospital’s inpatient department suffered extensive damages with the emergency, radiology, laboratory and operating departments currently out of service.
Nasser medical complex is the main referral hospital for southern Gaza, serving an estimated 1.3 million people and providing essential emergency, surgical and specialist care.
It is unconscionable that patients and medical staff are once again being killed and injured inside a hospital, a place where lives should be saved, not taken.
This is not the first time Nasser hospital has come under attack. Since October 2023, the hospital has been hit by at least six airstrikes, in addition to repeated ground incursions, shelling and gunfire. Healthcare facilities, already struggling to respond to overwhelming medical needs, continue to face attacks, destruction and threats of evacuation.
Hospitals must remain places of safety, where patients can receive treatment and medical staff can save lives without fearing for their own.
In January, MSF had reported a pattern of unacceptable acts including the presence of armed men in different areas of the large compound of the hospital and temporarily suspended some activities. This had not been the case in areas of the hospital where MSF has activities.
Lately, new incidents have been identified and reported to the relevant authorities as has been our practice whenever necessary. These incidents pose serious security threats to our teams and patients as they are being used by the Israeli army to justify attacks on health structures.
Under international humanitarian law, hospitals must be respected and protected. In no conceivable circumstances can attacks on functioning hospitals in Gaza be treated as normal or acceptable.
Israel’s military actions continue to have a devastating impact on communities every day. Between Aug. 30 and Nov. 12, 2026 alone, at least 567 aerial strike incidents, involving warplanes, drones and helicopters were recorded across Gaza.
We urge world leaders to move beyond statements of condemnation and take concrete action to ensure the protection of patients, healthcare workers and facilities in Gaza. The continued attacks on healthcare cannot be met with silence and impunity.
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