Israel strikes Gaza hospital as it targets Hamas

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

The strike hit the surgical building of Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis, the ministry said.

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

More than 50,000 Palestinians have now been killed in the war, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said earlier Sunday. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.

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.

The ceasefire that took hold in January paused more than a year of fighting ignited by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack into Israel that killed some 1,200 people.

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 and there was a surge in humanitarian aid.

The sides were supposed to begin negotiations in early February on the ceasefire’s next phase, but those talks never began.

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.