Medics said five people were killed after Israel launched an airstrike in the area of the Nasser hospital in southern Gaza on Sunday.
The Israeli military said the strike killed a member of Hamas, but did not identify who it was. The Hamas-affiliated Shehab news agency said a member of Hamas’ political bureau, Ismail Barhoum, was killed in the strike.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says the strike caused a large fire in the surgical building of the hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis. The hospital says there are a number of wounded.
Nasser hospital — the largest in the Palestinian enclave — has been overwhelmed with dead and wounded after Israel resumed the war against Hamas militants in Gaza last week with a surprise wave of airstrikes that killed hundreds of people.
Like other medical facilities around Gaza, the hospital has been damaged by Israeli raids and strikes throughout the war.
More than 50,000 Palestinians have now been killed in the 17-month war war between Israel and Hamas, the Health Ministry said earlier Sunday. Israeli airstrikes killed at least 26 Palestinians overnight.
The Israeli military claimed to have “eliminated” dozens of militants since Israel ended a ceasefire last week.
