Israeli Airstrike Hits Hospital in Southern Gaza

The Israeli military announced on Tuesday that it had struck a hospital in southern Gaza, accusing Hamas militants of operating from within the facility, thereby ending a brief pause in military operations intended to facilitate the release of a US-Israeli hostage. According to a statement on Telegram, the military claimed that "significant Hamas terrorists" were using Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, located just north of Rafah, as a command and control center. The military asserted that Hamas was using the hospital compound to plan and carry out attacks against Israeli civilians and troops. There was no immediate information available about casualties.

Israel had temporarily halted its offensive to allow for the release of Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old US-Israeli soldier held hostage since October 2023. Alexander, believed to be the last remaining American hostage, was freed on Monday, just ahead of a scheduled visit to the Middle East by US President Donald Trump. Israel resumed its military operations on March 18 after a two-month truce in the ongoing war with Hamas, which began after a deadly attack by the group in October 2023 that killed 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to AFP’s tally based on official data. Since Israel resumed its offensive, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza reported that at least 2,749 people have been killed, pushing the overall death toll since the war's start to 52,862.