Hamas held dozens of hostages at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, during the war, including women, children, elderly people and foreign nationals, and used the medical facility as a heavily guarded military headquarters, the Israel Defense Forces said on Friday.
The disclosure came a day after the IDF and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) announced that an Israeli airstrike on the hospital compound had targeted Muhammad Abu Ismail, a senior commander of Hamas’s Khan Yunis Brigade, along with other terrorists operating from the facility.
According to the military, many of the hostages held at the hospital were abducted from Kibbutz Nahal Oz during the Hamas-led massacre of Oct. 7, 2023.
The IDF said Abu Ismail was responsible for holding numerous hostages captive during the war, including Edan Alexander, Nimrod Cohen, Staff Sgt. Oz Daniel, Col. Asaf Hamami, Avera Mengistu, Capt. Omer Neutra and Matan Zangauker.
Hospital’s second floor used as Hamas headquarters
The military said the second floor of Nasser Hospital served as a Hamas military headquarters, where civilians were prohibited from entering and security was tightly controlled.
According to the IDF, the facility was used by senior Hamas commanders, including Abu Ismail, to direct operations against Israeli forces and coordinate efforts to rebuild the terrorist organization’s military capabilities.
Abu Ismail became a central figure in the command and management of Hamas’s Khan Yunis Brigade following the targeted killing of its commander, Muhammad Yazouri, on Sept. 10, the military said.
The IDF said the hospital compound was used to advance dozens of terrorist attack plans on Israeli soldiers and rebuild the brigade, which had suffered significant losses during the war.
The military previously said Hamas had also used the hospital complex to store weapons, interrogate and torture Gazans, and coordinate attacks on Israeli forces.
Other Hamas terrorists targeted
Alongside Abu Ismail, the IDF identified two additional Hamas terrorists targeted in Thursday’s airstrike.
Muared Tawfiq Mahmoud Abu Zarifa served as a team leader in the engineering department of the brigade’s combat and administrative support company, while Khaled Osama Abu Anza headed the communications section of the Operations Department in Hamas’s intelligence headquarters.
The military said the three men were operating from a room inside the hospital compound when they were targeted.
According to the IDF, the strike was intended to eliminate the threat posed by the terrorists, who were using the medical facility to plan attacks and restore Hamas’s military infrastructure in southern Gaza. The military did not immediately confirm whether Abu Ismail and the other operatives had been killed.
IDF says Hamas ignored repeated warnings
The IDF said it had repeatedly warned Hamas to halt military activities at Nasser Hospital, including in the period immediately preceding the strike.
Despite those warnings, the terrorist organization continued operating from the facility, according to the military.
The IDF said the airstrike was specifically directed at the room used by the Hamas commanders and that precautions were taken to minimize harm to civilians and damage to the hospital building.
In its initial statement Thursday, the military said it had employed precision munitions and aerial surveillance to reduce the risk to noncombatants.
Palestinian reports said six people were killed in the strike, including a surgeon. The IDF did not immediately confirm those casualty figures.
The military reiterated Friday that it operates in accordance with international law and respects the special protection afforded to hospitals and medical personnel.
The IDF also released graphics illustrating the alleged Hamas headquarters on the hospital’s second floor and the terrorist organization’s use of the compound.
Board of Peace calls for implementation of Gaza plan
Following Thursday’s strike, the U.S.-led Board of Peace condemned Hamas’s use of hospitals for military purposes, while calling for the immediate implementation of President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan.
“The Board of Peace deplores the death of any civilians and strongly condemns Hamas’s continued exploitation of hospitals and other critical civilian infrastructure for military purposes,” the board said in a statement.
It warned that without progress on the peace plan, civilians would continue to suffer as Hamas accused Israel of deliberately targeting hospitals and Israel maintained that the terrorist organization was exploiting medical facilities for military operations.
“Both Israel and Hamas must immediately honor their commitments under the Comprehensive Peace Plan, including protecting civilians, maintaining the ceasefire, and advancing Gaza’s demilitarization,” the statement said.
The board added that it had developed a framework to ensure Gazans could receive medical care in secure, demilitarized facilities and urged all parties to allow its implementation without further obstruction.
The strike took place as Israel continued to insist that Hamas disarm and Gaza be demilitarized before reconstruction proceeds under Trump’s 20-point peace plan.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office reiterated Tuesday that Hamas had yet to surrender a single weapon and called on mediators to demand the terrorist organization’s immediate disarmament.
