Israeli Airstrike on Gaza Hospital Kills Patients, Wounds Medical Staff
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - An Israeli airstrike hit the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, killing two patients and injuring several others, including medical staff, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The ministry reported that the strike targeted the hospital’s surgical ward late Sunday, killing a teenage boy and another patient receiving treatment. Hamas identified one of the victims as Ismail Barhoum, a member of its political bureau.
Feroze Sidhwa, a trauma surgeon from California volunteering at the hospital, said the teenage victim was his patient. “He would have gone home tomorrow. If I had been changing his dressings, as I planned to this evening, I probably would have been killed too. Attacking hospitals is a war crime, and it needs to stop,” he said.
Shortly before the attack, Sidhwa and Mark Perlmutter, a volunteer orthopedic surgeon, spoke to CNN about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Perlmutter criticized Western media coverage, saying it contributes to the rising civilian death toll.
Israel launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, but it failed to achieve its declared objectives despite killing 50,021 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring more than 113,274 others in the besieged territory.
A ceasefire agreement was reached on January 19 under a three-phase truce plan, but Israeli hostilities resumed after two months.
Speaking to Democracy Now! on March 18, Sidhwa described the severe injuries he had treated, calling the situation “heartbreaking” and condemning US military support for Israel.
Hamas denounced Barhoum’s killing, calling it part of Israel’s “record of terrorism” and saying that Israeli forces are systematically targeting Palestinian civilians, leaders, and health facilities in violation of international law. The group pledged to continue its resistance, stating that assassinations would not deter its struggle.
Barhoum’s death marks the latest in a series of targeted assassinations of Hamas political leaders, with five bureau members killed in the past week. The attack also rendered the Nasser Hospital’s emergency department inoperative, further straining Gaza’s overwhelmed healthcare system.
