On a Thursday before dawn, an Israeli airstrike struck the second floor of Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, the last major hospital standing in the south of Gaza, killing at least six people, most of them patients, and wounding twenty more. It is one more chapter in a long pattern in which places meant for healing have been drawn into a war that refuses to respect them. Israel says it was after a Hamas member sheltering there, while Hamas calls it a war crime, and the people left in between are the ones who have waited longest for care. Against this, the rains that week flooded tens of t
Israeli strikes hit Nasser Medical Complex as UN warns flooding has left Gaza's displaced exposed
At least six people were killed and 20 wounded in the strike on Nasser Medical Complex, most of them patients, while 70,000 tents were flooded and over 106,000 people were affected by rain.
The only hospital still standing in Khan Younis was struck for the seventh time
Mark
Why does the Nasser strike stand out in a day with 13 deaths?
Mimi
Because of what the hospital is. It's the only one still standing in Khan Younis, serving at least 500,000 people, and most of the casualties were patients, some awaiting surgery.
Mark
Israel says it was after a Hamas member. Does that settle anything?
Luke
No. That's the military's claim, and the reporting doesn't say who the person was or whether they were hit. The casualty details come from Civil Defence and Al Jazeera's correspondent, not an independent check.
Mark
And Hamas calls it a war crime.
Luke
That's a party's characterisation, not a finding. It's worth keeping apart from the confirmed facts.
Mark
The rain feels like a separate story, but it's the same week.
Mimi
It is the same people. Tents flooded, latrines overflowing into camps, and then strikes on tents too. Khoudary said nowhere is safe.
Mark
What's blocking the tents?
Mimi
The UN's Farhan Haq says Israeli permits are needed on top of funding. Tom Fletcher says some donors want to wait for a new Israeli government, and he calls that unacceptable.
Luke
Note the 70,000 flooded tents is the Government Media Office's figure, while the 106,000 affected is UNICEF's. Different sources, different measures. And Fletcher is relaying what donors told him; we haven't heard from them directly.
Il Polso
- An airstrike tore through the second floor of Nasser Medical Complex, one of the last functioning hospitals in southern Gaza, leaving patients and the wounded in its wake.
- Seven more Palestinians were killed across the Strip in a single day, from a tent in Sheikh Radwan to a man filling a water tank, and no one feels safe where they stand.
- Weekend rains have flooded at least 70,000 tents, with latrines overflowing into camps and more than 106,000 people directly affected by the water.
- The UN is racing to bring in waterproof tents, but it needs Israeli permits it has not yet received, and some donors say winter aid must wait for a new Israeli government.
- Italy has pledged 5 million euros for immediate relief, yet the UN calls the delay unacceptable, and the coming days will show whether shelter reaches the families who need it.
On a Thursday before dawn, an Israeli airstrike struck the second floor of Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, the last major hospital standing in the south of Gaza, killing at least six people, most of them patients, and wounding twenty more. It is one more chapter in a long pattern in which places meant for healing have been drawn into a war that refuses to respect them. Israel says it was after a Hamas member sheltering there, while Hamas calls it a war crime, and the people left in between are the ones who have waited longest for care. Against this, the rains that week flooded tens of thousands of tents where displaced families live, and the question now is whether the world's promises of shelter can cross the permits, politics, and delays that stand in their way.
In the early hours of Thursday, an Israeli air strike hit the second floor of Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis. Gaza's Civil Defence says at least six people were killed and twenty wounded. Many of them were patients, some of whom had been scheduled for surgery the next day. Al Jazeera's Hind Khoudary, reporting from Gaza City, described Nasser as the only major hospital still standing in Khan Younis, serving at least half a million people in the south, and said it was the seventh time in a couple of years that the facility had been struck.
The Israeli military said it was targeting a Hamas member at the hospital. Hamas condemned the attack as a war crime and urged mediators and the United States to act to enforce the ceasefire.
The hospital was not the only site of death that day. Across the Strip, Israeli fire killed several other Palestinians, including a 38-year-old man in al-Sabra, a man shot near al-Bureij, and a man struck by a drone in al-Nasr. In Sheikh Radwan, a strike on a tent killed two brothers from the al-Absi family as they sheltered inside. Khoudary said the attacks hit people simply trying to survive, and that nowhere in Gaza felt safe.
The displaced also face the water itself. Gaza's Government Media Office reports at least 70,000 tents flooded in weekend rains, and UNICEF says more than 106,000 people have been directly affected, with latrines overflowing into camps. The UN has launched an emergency appeal for waterproof tents, but UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq says Israeli permits are required to bring them in. Tom Fletcher, the UN's humanitarian chief, said some donors have told the UN that winter supplies must wait for a new Israeli government, a position he called unacceptable. Italy has announced a 5 million euro emergency package for immediate help.
Gaza's health authorities put the death toll since October 2023 at 74,653, with 176,007 more injured. The coming days will show whether the permits are granted, and whether winter aid keeps being tied to politics.
In the early hours of Thursday, an Israeli air strike hit the second floor of Nasser Medical Complex, west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. Gaza's Civil Defence service says at least six people were killed and 20 others wounded. Al Jazeera's Hind Khoudary, reporting from Gaza City, said most of the dead and injured were patients, among them people who had been scheduled for surgery the next day.
Khoudary described Nasser as one of the largest hospitals in the Gaza Strip and the only one still standing in Khan Younis, serving at least 500,000 people in the south. She said it was the seventh time in the past couple of years that Israel had struck the facility. The Israeli military said it was targeting a Hamas member at the hospital. Hamas called the strike a war crime that exposes the occupation's impunity, and in a statement urged mediators and the US administration to act to stop Israeli violations and ensure adherence to the ceasefire.
The hospital strike was not the only deadly attack. Before it, Israeli fire had killed seven other Palestinians across the Strip, bringing the reported total to at least 13. On Wednesday, an air attack killed 38-year-old Mohammed Salem al-Daash in the al-Sabra neighbourhood, south of Gaza City. Another man was shot dead by Israeli forces east of al-Bureij camp in central Gaza, and another was killed by a drone strike in al-Nasr, northwest of Gaza City.
In Sheikh Radwan, north of Gaza City, a strike on a tent sheltering displaced people killed at least two and wounded several others. Khoudary said two brothers from the al-Absi family died while sheltering in their tent on al-Jalaa Street. She also cited a man killed by a drone strike while filling a water tank, and said the attacks hit people going about basic efforts to survive. Nowhere in Gaza, she said, was safe.
The strikes came as the displaced faced another threat: water. Gaza's Government Media Office says at least 70,000 tents were flooded in weekend rains. UNICEF says heavy rain has directly affected at least 106,000 people in recent days, with thousands of tents submerged and latrines overflowing into camps. The UN has made an emergency appeal for waterproof tents for hundreds of thousands of people exposed to the weather.
NGOs and local organisations say they lack the resources and capacity to cope, while Israel continues to restrict the entry of essential aid. UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters that beyond funding, Israeli permits are needed to bring the tents in, and that the UN needs Israeli authorities to cooperate in granting them.
Tom Fletcher, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said some countries backing aid deliveries have told the UN that winter supplies must wait for an Israeli government to be formed. Foreign ministers, he said, had pledged support but repeatedly said progress would be hard until after Israeli elections, and now the UN is being told to wait for a new government. He called this not an acceptable excuse, pointing to international law and the cost of delays, blockages and funding cuts. Italy's foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, said Rome has launched a new emergency initiative worth 5 million euros ($5.5m) for immediate help in Gaza after the flooding.
Gaza's health authorities put the death toll since October 7, 2023 at 74,653, with 176,007 more injured. More than 5,878 of those injuries came after the ceasefire agreement took effect in October 2025. What to watch next is whether Israeli permits for tents are granted, and whether donors keep tying winter aid to the formation of a government.
Citazioni salienti
Waiting for the formation of an Israeli government is not an acceptable excuse.— Tom Fletcher, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs (paraphrased)
Israeli permits are needed, beyond funding, to bring the tents in.— Farhan Haq, UN deputy spokesperson (paraphrased)
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