Israeli strike at Gaza’s Nasser Hospital kills Hamas official and aide

An Israeli air strike on a hospital in Gaza killed a senior Hamas leader and an aide on Sunday evening, a Hamas official told the BBC.

Ismail Barhoum, the head of the group’s financial affairs, was killed in the strike on Nasser Hospital, the main medical facility in Khan Younis.

He was receiving treatment at the hospital after being wounded in an air strike four days ago, the official said.

Israel’s military said it had struck a key Hamas member operating inside the hospital compound following “an extensive intelligence-gathering process” and said that “precise munitions” had been used to mitigate harm.

The Hamas-run health ministry said “many others”, including medical personnel, were injured.

The hospital department that was hit was evacuated after a large portion was destroyed, the ministry said.

Footage verified by the BBC showed people attempting to extinguish a fire after the strike.

Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using hospitals as hiding places for weapons and command centres, which the group denies.

Another Hamas leader, Salah al-Bardaweel, was killed by a separate Israeli air strike in Khan Younis on Sunday, an official told the BBC.

At least 30 people were killed in Khan Younis and Rafah as of Sunday morning, before the strike on the hospital in the evening, the health ministry said.

Israel resumed its military campaign in Gaza on 18 March, ending a ceasefire that lasted almost two months. Hundreds of people have been killed in strikes since then.

Israel blamed Hamas for rejecting a new US proposal to extend the truce. Hamas, in turn, accused Israel of abandoning the original deal agreed in January.

The war was triggered by Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people, mainly civilians, were killed and 251 others taken hostage.

Israel responded to the 7 October attack with a military offensive in Gaza to destroy Hamas, which has killed more than 50,000 people, the Hamas-run health ministry said.