The attack on Nasser Hospital
Sources in Gaza said two additional strikes followed in the same area while civil defense teams were evacuating victims from the first explosion.
Dr. Atef Al-Houth, director of Nasser Hospital, told Al-Arabi television that the strike hit the hospital’s fourth floor without warning. He said several operating rooms stopped functioning and that the hospital is treating around 1,000 patients, far beyond its capacity of 140 beds.
The strikes come amid accelerated Israeli preparations for a ground operation deep in Gaza City, described by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the final stronghold of Hamas in northern Gaza. The operation, dubbed Gideon Chariots II, follows tens of thousands of reserve call-up orders as Israeli forces prepare to confront terrorists entrenched for nearly two years in the densely populated city.
The IDF said up to one million Gaza residents will need to be evacuated before the ground operation, in line with a cabinet decision that designated October 7—the second anniversary of the war—as the symbolic deadline for completing evacuations. Following that, Israeli forces are expected to strike multiple targets in the city, including areas previously spared due to dense civilian presence. Defense Minister Israel Katz called Gaza the “capital of Hamas” and warned that in the event of conflict, “the gates of hell will open.”
First published: 12:04, 08.25.25
