Two Israeli missiles struck a key hospital in Gaza on Sunday, destroying its emergency and reception wing and damaging nearby buildings, according to medical staff. The Israeli military said the target was a Hamas command center operating from within the hospital compound.
The attack forced the evacuation of patients from the Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital. A hospital staffer reported receiving a call shortly before the strike from someone claiming to represent Israeli security, warning of the imminent attack. No casualties were reported, according to the civil emergency service.
In a statement, the Israeli military said it had taken precautionary measures to minimize civilian harm, asserting that Hamas fighters Israeli missiles hit Gaza hospital, patients evacuated were using the hospital to coordinate attacks.
Footage shared on social media—unverified by Reuters—appeared to show panicked evacuations, with some people dragging patients on hospital beds out of the damaged facility.
The Palestinian foreign ministry and Hamas condemned the strike, accusing Israel of systematically targeting Gaza’s health infrastructure.
Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of embedding its operations in civilian areas, including hospitals—claims Hamas denies. Israeli forces have launched multiple operations in medical facilities throughout the enclave.
Al-Ahli Hospital was previously the focus of global scrutiny in October 2023, when an explosion in its parking lot killed scores. Hamas blamed Israel for that blast, but Israel claimed it resulted from a misfired rocket by Palestinian Islamic Jihad. A subsequent Human Rights Watch investigation concluded that the explosion likely stemmed from a failed Palestinian launch.
Meanwhile, additional Israeli airstrikes on Sunday reportedly killed a police chief in Khan Younis and at least eight others, including a woman, in northern Gaza, according to Hamas media and the Palestinian news agency WAFA. Israel has not commented on those incidents.
The ongoing war, now in its seventh month, was sparked by the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli figures.
Since then, local health authorities say more than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive. Much of Gaza lies in ruins, with the vast majority of its population displaced.