Israel's Sunday attack on Nasser hospital strained health system in Gaza: WHO

The chief of the World Health Organization has said Israel's Sunday attack on the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, the southern Gaza Strip, has strained the health system in Gaza.

The Israeli attack on the hospital "severely damaged the surgical ward, killed two people, and injured eight," Tedros Ghebreyesus said Monday on X.

"35 in-patient beds were destroyed, further straining the health system which is already overwhelmed by injuries due to renewed violence," Tedros noted.

He stressed that "health care is not a target, should be protected, and must not be militarised," reiterating WHO's call for "the release of all hostages and for the resumption of the ceasefire."

On Sunday night, the Palestinian Health Ministry said at least two Palestinians were killed and several others injured when the Israeli army shelled a hospital in southern Gaza.

The strike targeted the hospital's surgical ward, claiming the lives of a 16-year-old and another Palestinian, while wounding several other patients and medical staff, it said in a statement.

The army launched a surprise aerial campaign on the Gaza Strip on March 18, killing at least 730 people and injuring nearly 1,200 others despite a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in January.

More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 113,400 injured in a brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza since October 2023.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.