Israel Kills Senior Hamas Brigade Chief Planning Attacks from Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis
The IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) carried out an airstrike on a Hamas terror cell, including a "senior Hamas terrorist," planning to carry out terror attacks from within Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, during the night between Wednesday and Thursday, the military confirmed on Thursday.
The senior terrorist was identified in a subsequent IDF and Shin Bet statement as Khan Yunis Brigade commander Muhammad Abu Ismail.
Ismail was responsible for overseeing the activities of the terrorists who formed the brigade, as well as others who were hiding within the hospital compound, the military said.
"He was also responsible for holding numerous hostages captive throughout the war," the IDF stated, without clarifying which hostages Abu Ismail held in custody.
Hamas-linked Gazan media reports claim that six people were killed and 25 wounded in the strike. The IDF has not yet announced a specific number of casualties.
IDF, Shin Bet condemn Hamas's 'cynical exploitation' of hospital
The strike also came after Hamas terrorists "had established a presence within the hospital complex and used it as a command center for military and terrorist activities against IDF troops and the State of Israel," the military added.
Such terror activity constitutes a blatant violation of international law and a cynical exploitation of civilian infrastructure," the military said, noting several examples of this.
These included "storing weapons within the hospital complex, conducting interrogations and torture by Hamas's internal security and intelligence services within the hospital complex, operating command-and-control rooms within the hospital complex, using hospital facilities as observation posts and shelters for terrorists," and more, the military said.
The IDF and Shin Bet both strongly condemned Hamas for its "cynical exploitation of civilian and medical infrastructure for military purposes, while endangering the lives of patients, medical personnel, and civilians," the military confirmed.
The IDF also says it took steps to mitigate any harm to civilians ahead of the airstrike.
Hospital director claims facility rendered unusable in Al Jazeera interview
The director of Nasser Hospital subsequently spoke to Al Jazeera later on Thursday morning, claiming that the "entire facility has been rendered unusable" following the airstrike.
"The hospital serves approximately one million residents and is the only medical center that performs surgeries," the director claimed.
Avi Ashkenazi and Amit Avitan contributed to this report.
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