Shafaq News- Gaza

At least six people were killed, and around 20 others were wounded in an Israeli airstrike on Nasser Hospital, the largest medical facility in the southern Gaza Strip, the enclave's Health Ministry said on Thursday.

Eyewitnesses cited by local media recounted that a single missile fired by an Israeli warplane struck a building housing the hospital's surgical wards and intensive care units, killing several medical staff members, including surgeon Dr. Rizk Abu Shaira.

The Israeli military claimed it had targeted a commander of Hamas' armed wing and other fighters who had used the hospital as a "headquarters" to plan attacks against Israeli forces.

Hamas accused Israel of spreading "false narratives" in a "blatant attempt to cover up a new war crime," condemning the attack as a "flagrant violation of international laws and conventions."

Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas, which retains security control over parts of Gaza not occupied by Israeli troops, of exploiting civilian infrastructure for military purposes, allegations the Palestinian group categorically rejects.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, meanwhile, accused US President Donald Trump's administration of providing political and military cover for Israel. "The policy of impunity encourages the [Israeli] occupation to escalate its aggression," the group said following the hospital attack.

At least two other Palestinians were also killed and several wounded in a separate strike that hit a tent sheltering displaced people in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, north of Gaza City.

Israeli strikes across Gaza have continued despite a ceasefire agreement reached in October last year. Another attack on medical infrastructure occurred on Thursday, when an Israeli airstrike hit the entrance to Al-Shifa Medical Complex in western Gaza City, killing one person and wounding several others, a medical source told local media.

More than 1,622 Palestinians have died since the ceasefire took effect, according to the territory's Health Ministry, which puts the overall death toll since the war began on October 7, 2023, at 74,653, with another 176,007 wounded.

Read more: 70K tents flooded in Gaza's first winter storm

Gaza's humanitarian crisis has worsened in recent days after heavy rainfall reportedly flooded tens of thousands of tents sheltering displaced families.

At least 106,000 people were directly affected, according to the UN Children's Agency (UNICEF), with thousands of tents housing displaced Palestinians submerged and latrines overflowing into displacement camps.

Non-governmental organizations and local groups warn that they lack the resources and capacity to respond to the worsening crisis as Israel continues to restrict the entry of essential humanitarian aid.

"Ultimately, we need the Israeli authorities to cooperate with giving the permissions so that we can bring those tents in," UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters at a media briefing on Wednesday.

Some countries supporting aid deliveries to Gaza have indicated that shipments of winter supplies will have to wait until an Israeli government is formed, according to Tom Fletcher, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs.

"This is not an acceptable excuse," Fletcher stated, citing international law and warning of the consequences of delays, blockages, and funding cuts.