Israel army says struck Hamas commander in Gaza hospital compound

Israel’s military said it struck a Hamas commander within the compound of a Gaza hospital on Saturday, while the territory’s health officials said Israeli strikes elsewhere killed three 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.

The hospital reported that three people had been injured in an Israeli strike near a warehouse close to the maternity ward inside the medical facility.

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.”

Earlier in the day, al-Aqsa Hospital reported one person killed by Israeli fire in the eastern area of the city.

The Israeli military said it was checking the reports.

In Gaza City, the civil defense agency, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas, said an Israeli strike near a roundabout in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood killed two people and injured several others.

When contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it struck a “military operative” in the area.

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 October 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.