Israeli strikes kill six across Gaza as hospital bombing claims surgeon's life

Israeli forces carried out strikes across the Gaza Strip on Friday, killing six Palestinians and injuring around twenty others, according to medical sources and witnesses cited by Middle East Eye. The attacks came one day after an Israeli bombing of Nasser Hospital in Gaza killed six people, among them surgeon Dr. Rizk Abu Shaira, Democracy Now! reported. The strikes on medical facilities and civilian rescuers illustrate the ongoing lethality of the military campaign.

In Deir al-Balah, a double-tap strike hit civilians who had rushed to help victims of an earlier attack, witnesses told Middle East Eye. Israeli artillery also shelled the area around the al-Qastal Towers residential complex east of the city and eastern districts of Gaza City, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. The wounded were taken to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah. Since the ceasefire took effect on 11 October 2025, Israeli attacks have killed 1,622 Palestinians and injured 5,878 others, according to Gaza's health ministry figures cited by Middle East Eye.

The Nasser Hospital strike on Thursday killed six Palestinians, including Dr. Abu Shaira, who was featured in the documentary American Doctor about international medical volunteers in Gaza. Israel claimed, without providing evidence, that it targeted a senior Hamas militant in the hospital, Democracy Now! reported. Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, a US surgeon who worked alongside Dr. Abu Shaira, described the attack as "just barbarism" and noted: "That's an American-made bomb dropped by an American-made airplane burning American-supplied jet fuel." Democracy Now! reports that Israel has repeatedly bombed medical facilities in Gaza since October 2023. Dr. Sidhwa also highlighted catastrophic flooding in Gaza that has swamped temporary shelters of tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians, as Israel continues to block the entry of shelter materials into the territory.

Double-tap strike and artillery shelling in Deir al-Balah

Middle East Eye's sources describe a sequence in which an initial strike in Deir al-Balah drew rescuers and bystanders, and a second strike hit them. The same day, Israeli artillery shelled residential areas around al-Qastal Towers and eastern Gaza City, as reported by Wafa. Witnesses described the double-tap strike, while Wafa reported the artillery shelling. The wounded were transported to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

Hospital bombing and attacks on medical care

The Nasser Hospital strike is part of what Democracy Now! describes as repeated bombing of medical facilities in Gaza since October 2023. Dr. Sidhwa warned that babies are "going to die of hypothermia in Gaza for the fourth year in a row" as flooding worsens and Israel blocks shelter materials. Democracy Now! notes that such attacks are prohibited under international law.

West Bank raids and settler violence continue

On the same Friday, Israeli forces and settlers carried out a series of attacks across the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. In Jaba', south of Jenin, Israeli forces shot a young Palestinian man in the thigh. Near Ramallah, forces raided a wedding hall in al-Mughayyir, firing tear gas at around 150 guests and detaining four people, including the groom. In Beit Ummar, several Palestinians were treated for tear gas inhalation. South of Yatta, settlers besieged the home of Yousef Shannaran for the 40th consecutive day, poisoning the family's water well and smashing windows and doors. Near Khirbet Srouj, settlers attacked Palestinian families harvesting olives and stole their harvest and equipment. In occupied East Jerusalem, two Palestinian brothers were forced to demolish their own homes in Sur Baher after the Israeli municipality said they lacked permits.

In our assessment

Dr. Sidhwa's observation that the Nasser Hospital strike involved an American-made bomb, aircraft, and fuel highlights the direct material role of the United States in arming the military campaign. In our assessment, this reliance on Washington's military supply chain implicates US policy directly in the destruction of Gaza's medical infrastructure. The mounting toll since the October 2025 ceasefire — 1,622 killed and 5,878 injured by Friday, per Gaza's health ministry — shows that the pause in fighting was never a pause in killing.

This piece was generated automatically by an AI model from the sources listed below. It has not been reviewed by a human editor.

Sources

• Six Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza — Middle East Eye
• Israeli forces detain Palestinian groom in wedding raid as settler attacks continue across West Bank — Middle East Eye
• "It's Just Barbarism": Dr. Feroze Sidhwa Mourns Friend Killed in Israeli Hospital Strike in Gaza — Democracy Now!