Israel Strikes Gaza Hospitals: Dozens of Palestinians Dead and Injured

Israeli forces, with support from the U.S., launched attacks on two hospitals in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, resulting in the death and injury of numerous Palestinians, including patients, displaced individuals, medical and rescue personnel, and a prominent journalist.

The strikes early on Tuesday targeted the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, where at least two individuals were killed, including photojournalist Hasan Eslaih, who was there receiving care after narrowly escaping an assassination attempt by Israeli forces last month.

Officials in Gaza reported that Eslaih, who was the head of Alam24 News Agency, is believed to be the 215th journalist killed by Israeli actions since October 2023. He had previously been severely injured and lost a finger during an Israeli strike on April 7 at a tent outside the same hospital where several were tragically burned to death. The recent Tuesday attack also left more than a dozen patients injured.

“The surgical burn unit was hit, destroying 18 hospital beds, along with eight in the intensive care unit and 10 other inpatient beds,” stated WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus post-attack. “It’s a significant setback for the already strained health system.”

Tedros reiterated his plea: “We must see an end to hospital attacks,” he said. “The blockade on aid must be lifted to facilitate the immediate delivery of food, medicine, and medical equipment required for patient care and hospital repair. The ultimate remedy is peace.”

Journalist Jeremy Scahill commented on the situation, accusing the U.S. of enabling these war crimes while noting the general silence among Western journalists.

Later that same day, another bombing occurred at the European Hospital courtyard in Khan Younis, which resulted in at least 28 deaths and numerous injuries. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) admitted to the attack, claiming they were targeting “Hamas operatives located in a command center set up under the hospital infrastructure.”

British surgeon Tom Potokar, present during the bombing, highlighted the grim reality inside, noting it was a refuge for children with cancer who were awaiting evacuation.

The Gaza Government Media Office has documented significant damage to the health infrastructure, with 38 hospitals, 81 health centers, and 164 medical facilities either destroyed, damaged, or rendered non-operational since the beginning of the Israeli offensive following the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has condemned these strikes, declaring on social media that “attacks on healthcare facilities are unacceptable and must cease. Healthcare should never be a target.”

Such attacks on medical facilities are considered war crimes under the 1949 Geneva Conventions.

The Gaza Health Ministry has criticized the repeated targeting of hospitals and the pursuit of injured patients within treatment facilities, asserting that these actions demonstrate Israel’s calculated intent to further cripple the healthcare system.

In the U.S., the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) issued a statement accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of bombing hospitals, killing civilians, destroying homes, and attempting to ethnically cleanse the Gaza population as part of a brutal campaign to maintain his position indefinitely.

CAIR urged U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene to halt these atrocities, which it claimed have been enabled by the U.S. for decades, and to help secure peace and freedom for the Palestinian people.

IDF operations have devastated not only Gaza’s healthcare facilities but also the densely populated region as a whole. A report by an independent United Nations commission last year found that Israel has deliberately targeted Gaza’s healthcare system as part of a wider assault on Gaza, constituting war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The report detailed numerous IDF attacks on Gaza healthcare facilities and noted the killing or injuring of approximately 1,700 medical personnel, describing these acts as “widespread and systematic.”

Israel’s prolonged military actions and blockade, now in their 585th day according to officials, have resulted in over 186,000 Palestinians dead, wounded, or missing, and millions more displaced, starved, or suffering from illness. These actions are currently under scrutiny in a genocide case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, brought forward by South Africa.

Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are also subjects of a warrant by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, including the use of extermination and starvation as weapons of war.