Israel army says struck Hamas commander in Gaza hospital compound
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Palestinians inspecting the damage following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Aug 27.
PHOTO: EPA
- Israel struck a Hamas commander hiding in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital compound in Gaza, targeting militants despite a US-backed ceasefire since October 2025.
- Israeli strikes near the hospital and in Gaza City killed at least three people and injured others, with Israel claiming to warn against using medical facilities for terrorist activities.
- Since the ceasefire, Israeli operations have killed over 1,300 Palestinians and five Israeli soldiers, as Israel continues efforts to eliminate Hamas threats following the October 2023 attacks.
AI generated
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories - Israel’s military said it struck a Hamas commander within the compound of a Gaza hospital on Aug 29, while the territory’s health officials said Israeli strikes elsewhere killed four people.
It is the latest bloodshed to occur in the war-shattered territory despite a US-backed ceasefire that took effect in October 2025, with Israel continuing to target Palestinians it says are militants.
The military said it struck a Hamas commander who “was hiding within the compound” of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central city of Deir al-Balah, but was unable to immediately confirm if he had been killed.
It said the commander, who it did not name, advanced “attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians” and was hit in a structure adjacent to hospital buildings.
“Earlier today, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital was targeted, with a small storage facility hit,” the hospital’s director Raed Hussein said.
“Thankfully, there were no major casualties, apart from four minor injuries,” he told AFP, but said the strike had “caused extensive material damage.”
AFP footage from the scene showed several damaged water tanks on the roof of a building and debris down below.
The military said steps had been taken to “mitigate the risk to civilians”, adding that it had warned Gazan medical authorities two days earlier about “the cessation of the use of medical facilities for terrorist purposes”.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said that it was “appalled by reports of an Israeli airstrike within the Al-Aqsa Hospital compound,” adding that “hospitals should be safe places for patients and healthcare workers.”
“At a time when Israeli forces are routinely targeting hospitals, it is of utmost importance that all parties respect and preserve the neutrality and protection of medical facilities,” it wrote on X.
Earlier in the day, Al-Aqsa Hospital reported one person killed by Israeli fire in the eastern area of the city.
Gaza’s civil defence agency, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas, said four people were killed in other strikes across the territory on Aug 29.
Israeli fire east of Deir al-Balah killed one person, the agency said. The Israeli military said it was checking the reports.
An Israeli strike near a roundabout in the Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood of Gaza City killed two people and injured several others, the civil defence said.
When contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it struck a “military operative” in the area.
Another strike killed one person and critically injured another in the southern city of Khan Yunis, the civil defence said.
The Israeli military said it was checking the reports.
Israel has kept striking Gaza and its forces have made further inroads despite a US-brokered ceasefire announced in October, with Israel insisting it must eliminate threats from Hamas, which led the unprecedented Oct 7, 2023 attack against Israel.
Israeli operations in Gaza have killed at least 1,313 people since the ceasefire came into effect, according to the Palestinian territory’s health ministry, which also operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.
The Israeli army has reported five deaths in its ranks over the same period, as well as the death of one civilian contractor. AFP
