An Israeli air strike has killed at least 16 people and injured dozens at the European Hospital in Khan Younis, the Hamas-run health ministry says.
Israeli warplanes dropped six bombs simultaneously on the Gaza hospital, hitting both its inner courtyard and surrounding area, according to local sources.
The Israeli military said it had conducted a “precise strike” on “Hamas terrorists in a command and control centre” which it claimed was beneath the hospital.
A freelance journalist working for the BBC in Gaza was among those injured in the air strike, and is now in a stable condition after receiving medical attention.
The strike at European Hospital resulted in several deep craters inside the hospital compound, which buried several vehicles including a large bus.
The dead and wounded have been transferred to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, local sources said, where medical teams are reportedly struggling to deal with the casualties.
The emergency department of Nasser Hospital was hit by another strike earlier on Tuesday, according to medical sources and eyewitnesses.
They said a well-known Palestinian photojournalist was among three people killed.
Hassan Aslih, who was being treated for injuries from a previous Israeli strike, was targeted in what witnesses described as a drone attack on the hospital’s surgical wing.
A doctor there confirmed that Aslih had been at the hospital for nearly a month after surviving an air strike on the same facility in April.
The Israeli military had previously accused him of involvement in the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel. The strike in April killed Aslih’s colleague Helmi al-Faqawi and wounded several other journalists.
In a joint statement the IDF and the Israeli Securities Authority (ISA) said Hamas “continues” to use hospitals in Gaza for its activities – a long-standing Israeli allegation which the group denies.
Israeli media reported the target of the strike was senior Hamas figure Mohammed Sinwar – the younger brother of the former Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.
