Jerusalem (EFE).- A 16-year-old teenager and a member of the Hamas political bureau were killed Sunday night in an Israeli attack on Nasser Hospital in the Khan Younis area of the Gaza Strip.
According to a statement by the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, the attack was a “direct hit” on the surgical department of the Nasser Medical Complex, killing an injured patient and wounding “many others” (including medical staff).
Shortly after, the Ministry of Health confirmed that the body of a 16-year-old boy who received surgery “two days earlier” was found in the rubble.
According to the text, the attack “caused a state of panic and the complete evacuation of the unit after much of its destruction.”
The Palestinian Hamas group confirmed that one of the dead was Ismail Barhoum, a member of the political bureau and the Shura Council, Hamas’ highest advisory body.
“The attack on Commander Barhoum while he was being treated in a hospital ward is a new crime that adds to the terrorist occupation’s record of violating holy sites, lives, and health facilities,” the group said in a statement through its official Telegram channel.
“It reaffirms its contempt for all international norms and conventions and its continued policy of systematic assassinations against our people and leaders,” it added.
Early Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed the attack, saying it targeted a Hamas militia member “after extensive intelligence and precise munitions to minimize damage to the surrounding area,” according to a military statement.
Like most medical facilities, Nasser Hospital has suffered damage from Israeli attacks and incursions during the war, which began in October 2023 and has been surrounded and raided by Israeli troops on several occasions.
More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, the Health Ministry said Sunday, including about 600 (40% children and children under 18) since Israel resumed attacks on Mar. 18, breaking a cease-fire agreement that took effect in late January. EFE
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