WHO condemns continuing Israeli attacks on Gaza’s healthcare following strike on Nasser Hospital
Gaza hospitals remain under attack despite the "ceasefire", in violation of international humanitarian law
Six people were killed and dozens injured in an Israeli airstrike on Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, in the latest attack on healthcare facilities during a "ceasefire", that has seen Israeli forces kills more than 1,400 people, including at least 340 children.
The strike hit the hospital in Khan Younis in the early hours of 12 November, killing patients, medical staff and companions, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Among those killed was surgeon Dr Rizq Abu Shaira, who featured in the documentary ‘American Doctor’.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said no warning was given before the attack.
“MSF is utterly appalled and outraged by the Israeli airstrike on Nasser hospital,” the organisation said.
“It is unconscionable that patients and medical staff are once again being killed and injured inside a hospital, a place where lives should be saved, not taken.”
The organisation said the hospital’s inpatient department sustained extensive damage, leaving emergency, radiology, laboratory and operating departments out of service.
Nasser is the main referral hospital for southern Gaza, providing essential medical services to an estimated 1.3 million people.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus condemned the strike, describing it as “another deadly attack on health care in Gaza”.
“Since October 2023, WHO has documented 1056 attacks on health care in Gaza, resulting in 1010 deaths and 1725 injuries,” he said.
Attacks on healthcare facilities have continued and escalated during the purported ceasefire, further devastating a health system already struggling to survive.
MSF said Nasser Hospital had been hit by at least six airstrikes since October 2023, alongside repeated ground incursions, shelling and gunfire.
The organisation also reported at least 567 aerial strike incidents across Gaza between 30 August and 12 November 2026.
Deliberately attacking a functioning hospital violates international humanitarian law unless it has lost its specific protection through use to commit acts harmful to the enemy, subject to strict legal conditions. Even then, civilian protections and the rules of proportionality and precautions continue to apply.
“Under international humanitarian law, hospitals must be respected and protected,” MSF stressed. “In no conceivable circumstances can attacks on functioning hospitals in Gaza be treated as normal or acceptable.”
Tedros warned that worsening winter conditions would compound Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe.
“Gaza’s health facilities are lifelines for its people. They must be protected,” he said.