Medics said five people were killed after Israel launched an airstrike in the area of the Nasser hospital in southern Gaza on Sunday.
The Israeli military said the strike killed a member of Hamas, but did not identify who it was. The Hamas-affiliated Shehab news agency said a member of Hamas’ political bureau, Ismail Barhoum, was killed in the strike.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says the strike caused a large fire in the surgical building of the hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis. The hospital says there are a number of wounded.
Nasser hospital — the largest in the Palestinian enclave — has been overwhelmed with dead and wounded after Israel resumed the war against Hamas militants in Gaza last week with a surprise wave of airstrikes that killed hundreds of people.
Like other medical facilities around Gaza, the hospital has been damaged by Israeli raids and strikes throughout the war.
More than 50,000 Palestinians have now been killed in the 17-month war between Israel and Hamas, the Health Ministry said earlier Sunday. Israeli airstrikes killed at least 26 Palestinians overnight.
The Israeli military claimed to have “eliminated” dozens of militants since Israel ended a ceasefire last week.
Israel has long accused Hamas of shielding behind Palestinian civilians inside Gaza. It has justified some of its airstrikes on hospitals, schools and shelters for the displaced in part by saying Hamas fighters and leaders intentionally hide inside such civilian infrastructure and store weapons there.
Hamas has denied such claims, instead blaming Israel for putting civilians in danger and accusing the Israeli military of intentionally targeting them.
The Israel-Hamas war was sparked by an Oct. 7, 2023, attack led by Hamas into southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli tallies. Some 250 were taken by militants into Gaza.
Israel has faced accusations of genocide in Gaza because of the scale of death and destruction, which it rejects by saying it abides by international law and has a right to defend itself after the attack.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, the former Israeli defence minister, have been issued arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Arrest warrants were also issued for several Hamas officials over the Oct. 7 attack, including military leader Mohammed Deif and political leader Yahya Sinwar — both of whom have since been killed by Israel.
