Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is appalled and outraged by the Israeli airstrike on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, last night, which killed six people, including a child and a surgeon, and injured 52 others. Attacks on hospitals not only harm those directly affected but also deprive people in the community of critical medical services.
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. The airstrike hit Nasser's surgery building. No warning was given before the attack.
MSF has so far treated two doctors and a third patient injured in the strike, all of whom required surgery, in a separate building. The hospital's inpatient department also suffered extensive damage, leaving the emergency, radiology, laboratory, and operating departments out of service.
“It is unconscionable that patients and medical staff have once again been killed and injured inside a hospital, a place where lives should be saved, not taken,” said Filipe Ribeiro, MSF head of mission.
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. Health care facilities — already struggling to respond to overwhelming medical needs amid conflict and limited functional infrastructure — continue to face attacks, destruction, and threats of evacuation, despite the so-called ceasefire that went into effect in Gaza in October 2025.
“Hospitals must remain places of safety, where patients can receive treatment and medical staff can save lives without fearing for their own,” said Ribeiro.
In January, MSF temporarily suspended activities after reporting the presence of armed men in different areas of the large compound of the hospital. MSF did not have activities in those areas of the hospital.
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 civilians every day. Between August 30 and November 12 alone, at least 567 aerial strike incidents involving warplanes, drones, and helicopters were recorded across Gaza.
World leaders must move beyond statements of condemnation and take concrete action to ensure the protection of patients, health care workers, and facilities in Gaza. The continued attacks on health care cannot be met with silence and impunity.
