A high-ranking Hamas official, Ismail Barhoum, was killed on Sunday evening in an Israeli airstrike targeting Nasser Hospital, the largest medical facility in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. Barhoum, who managed Hamas’s financial affairs, was reportedly receiving medical treatment at the hospital after being wounded in a previous airstrike four days earlier.
According to Israeli military officials, the strike followed extensive intelligence gathering and was aimed at a “key Hamas member” operating from within the hospital compound. They claimed the use of precise munitions was intended to limit collateral damage.
Despite these claims, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry reported that several people, including hospital staff, were injured in the strike. A large section of the hospital was destroyed, prompting an emergency evacuation of the department.
Footage verified by the BBC showed flames erupting from the building as bystanders rushed to contain the fire.
Israel has long accused Hamas of using hospitals and civilian infrastructure to hide weapons and coordinate attacks—allegations the group continues to deny.
In a separate incident earlier that day, another senior Hamas leader, Salah al-Bardaweel, was also killed in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, according to Hamas sources.
These attacks came amid a renewed wave of Israeli military operations across Gaza following the collapse of a two-month ceasefire on March 18. The escalation has left hundreds dead in recent days, with the health ministry reporting at least 30 deaths in Khan Younis and Rafah by Sunday morning alone—before the hospital strike even took place.
Tensions between the two sides remain high. Israel blamed Hamas for walking away from a new US-brokered truce proposal, while Hamas accused Israel of backing out of a previous agreement made in January.
The current war erupted after Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people—mostly civilians—and taking 251 hostages. In response, Israel launched a full-scale military offensive in Gaza, which has since claimed more than 50,000 Palestinian lives, according to figures from the Hamas-controlled health ministry.
