Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Gaza's Health Ministry Says Israel Has Struck the Largest Hospital in the Territory's South
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 weeks ago on
March 24, 2025

Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israel’s military struck the largest hospital in southern Gaza on Sunday night, killing two people, wounding others and causing a large fire, the territory’s Health Ministry said.

The strike hit the surgical building of Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis, the ministry said, days after the facility was overwhelmed with dead and wounded when Israel resumed the war in Gaza last week with a surprise wave of airstrikes.

Those killed in Sunday night’s strike included a 16-year-old boy who underwent surgery two days ago, according to the Health Ministry. Also killed was Ismail Barhoum, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, who was being treated at the hospital, Hamas said in a statement.

Israel’s military confirmed the strike on the hospital, saying it hit a Hamas militant operating there. Israel blames civilian deaths on Hamas because it operates in densely populated areas.

Like other medical facilities around Gaza, Nasser Hospital has been damaged by Israeli raids and strikes throughout the war.

More than 50,000 Palestinians have now been killed in the war, the Health Ministry said earlier Sunday.

The military claimed to have “eliminated” dozens of militants since Israel ended a ceasefire Tuesday with strikes that killed hundreds of people on one of the deadliest days in the 17-month war.

Israel’s unrest over Gaza and political issues grew Sunday, with anger at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as his government voted to express no confidence in the attorney general, seen by many as a check on the power of his coalition.

“I’m worried for the future of this country. And I think it has to stop. We have to change direction,” said Avital Halperin, one of hundreds of protesters outside Netanyahu’s office. Police said three were arrested.

‘Displacement Under Fire’

Israel’s military ordered thousands of Palestinians to leave the heavily destroyed Tel al-Sultan neighborhood in the southern city of Rafah. They walked to Muwasi, a sprawling area of squalid tent camps. The war has forced most of Gaza’s population of over 2 million to flee within the territory, often multiple times.

“It’s displacement under fire,” said Mustafa Gaber, a journalist who left with his family. He said tank and drone fire echoed nearby.

“The shells are falling among us and the bullets are (flying) above us,” said Amal Nassar, also displaced. “The elderly have been thrown into the streets. An old woman was telling her son, ‘Go and leave me to die.’ Where will we go?”

“Enough is enough. We are exhausted,” said a fleeing Ayda Abu Shaer, as smoke rose in the distance.

The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service said it lost contact with a 10-member team responding to the strikes in Rafah. Spokesperson Nebal Farsakh said some were wounded.

Israel’s military said it had fired on advancing “suspicious vehicles” and later discovered some were ambulances and fire trucks.

In Gaza City, an explosion hit next to a tent camp where people had been told to evacuate. “My husband is blind and started running barefoot, and my children were running,” said witness Nidaa Hassuna.

Strikes Kill Hamas Leader

Hamas said Salah Bardawil, a well-known member of its political bureau, was killed in a strike in Muwasi that also killed his wife. Israel’s military confirmed it.

Hospitals in southern Gaza said they received a further 24 bodies from strikes overnight, including several women and children.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said 50,021 Palestinians have been killed in the war, including 673 people since Israel’s bombardment on Tuesday shattered the ceasefire.

Dr. Munir al-Boursh, the ministry’s general director, said the dead include 15,613 children, with 872 of them under 1 year old.

The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count but says women and children make up over half the dead. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 fighters, without providing evidence.

Ceasefire in Tatters

The ceasefire that took hold in January paused more than a year of fighting ignited by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel, in which militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostage. Most captives have been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

In the latest ceasefire’s first phase, 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight others were released in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces allowed hundreds of thousands of people to return home. There was a surge in humanitarian aid until Israel cut off all supplies to Gaza earlier this month to pressure Hamas to change the ceasefire agreement.

The sides were supposed to begin negotiations in early February on the ceasefire’s next phase, in which Hamas was to release the remaining 59 hostages — 35 of them believed to be dead — in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Those talks never began.

New Settlements in the West Bank

Israel’s Cabinet passed a measure creating 13 new settlements in the occupied West Bank by rezoning existing ones, according to Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s far-right finance minister, who is in charge of settlement construction.

This brings the number of settlements, considered illegal by the majority of the international community, to 140, said anti-settlement watchdog group Peace Now. They will receive independent budgets from Israel and can elect their own local governments, the group said.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

I Have Never Been More Afraid for My Country’s Future

DON'T MISS

What To Know About California Reparations: Is State’s Apology the Beginning or the End?

DON'T MISS

Zoom Down for Thousands of Users, Downdetector Shows

DON'T MISS

ACLU Sues Defense Department Schools Over Book Bans

DON'T MISS

Selma City Manager Says His Firing Was ‘Purely Politically Motivated’

DON'T MISS

5 Easy Steps to Create Your Very Own “Starter Pack” Figurine Meme Image

DON'T MISS

Puerto Rico Goes Dark After Widespread Power Plant Failure

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Announce Arrest of Suspect in 2016 Cold Case Killing of Store Clerk

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: Exposing Dark Money Group That Attacked Vang

DON'T MISS

Fed’s Powell: Economy Slowing in Q1, Can Wait for Greater Clarity

UP NEXT

Zoom Down for Thousands of Users, Downdetector Shows

UP NEXT

ACLU Sues Defense Department Schools Over Book Bans

UP NEXT

Selma City Manager Says His Firing Was ‘Purely Politically Motivated’

UP NEXT

5 Easy Steps to Create Your Very Own “Starter Pack” Figurine Meme Image

UP NEXT

Puerto Rico Goes Dark After Widespread Power Plant Failure

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Announce Arrest of Suspect in 2016 Cold Case Killing of Store Clerk

UP NEXT

Wired Wednesday: Exposing Dark Money Group That Attacked Vang

UP NEXT

Fed’s Powell: Economy Slowing in Q1, Can Wait for Greater Clarity

UP NEXT

Fresno Gets a Shoutout on Jeopardy! in Monday’s Episode

UP NEXT

Kennedy Plans Studies to Look for Environmental Contributors to Autism

ACLU Sues Defense Department Schools Over Book Bans

2 hours ago

Selma City Manager Says His Firing Was ‘Purely Politically Motivated’

2 hours ago

5 Easy Steps to Create Your Very Own “Starter Pack” Figurine Meme Image

3 hours ago

Puerto Rico Goes Dark After Widespread Power Plant Failure

4 hours ago

Fresno Police Announce Arrest of Suspect in 2016 Cold Case Killing of Store Clerk

4 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: Exposing Dark Money Group That Attacked Vang

4 hours ago

Fed’s Powell: Economy Slowing in Q1, Can Wait for Greater Clarity

4 hours ago

Fresno Gets a Shoutout on Jeopardy! in Monday’s Episode

4 hours ago

Kennedy Plans Studies to Look for Environmental Contributors to Autism

5 hours ago

Southwest Airlines Sued Over Spilled Coffee on 4-Year-Old Boy: ‘It’s so Hot!’

5 hours ago

I Have Never Been More Afraid for My Country’s Future

So much crazy happens with the Trump administration every day that some downright weird but incredibly telling stuff gets lost in the noise....

1 hour ago

1 hour ago

I Have Never Been More Afraid for My Country’s Future

Photo of protests in France
2 hours ago

What To Know About California Reparations: Is State’s Apology the Beginning or the End?

The Zoom Video Communications logo is pictured at the NASDAQ MarketSite in New York, New York, U.S., April 18, 2019. (REUTERS File)
2 hours ago

Zoom Down for Thousands of Users, Downdetector Shows

2 hours ago

ACLU Sues Defense Department Schools Over Book Bans

2 hours ago

Selma City Manager Says His Firing Was ‘Purely Politically Motivated’

3 hours ago

5 Easy Steps to Create Your Very Own “Starter Pack” Figurine Meme Image

A car drives through a dark street in San Juan, Puerto Rico December 31, 2024. (REUTERS File)
4 hours ago

Puerto Rico Goes Dark After Widespread Power Plant Failure

Bailey Rosenberger (left) has been arrested in the 2016 cold case murder of a Fresno store clerk, Gurcharn Singh Gill, who was fatally stabbed during a robbery. (Fresno PD)
4 hours ago

Fresno Police Announce Arrest of Suspect in 2016 Cold Case Killing of Store Clerk

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend