Hospital director killed in Israeli airstrike in Gaza

GAZA CITY, Palestine

The director of a Palestinian hospital was killed in an Israeli airstrike south of Gaza City late Friday, according to the official Palestinian WAFA news agency.

The attack targeted the Al-Wafa Hospital for the Elderly Care in the Al-Zahraa neighborhood, killing director Midhad Mhaisen, said WAFA, citing local sources.

Several doctors were also injured in the attack, said sources.

The airstrike was the latest in a series of Israeli attacks targeting hospitals in the Gaza Strip amid an ongoing military offensive following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group, Hamas, on Oct. 7.

According to Palestinian authorities, Israeli attacks and fuel shortages have forced 26 hospitals out of service.

​​​​​​​The Israeli army raided the Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical complex in the blockaded enclave, on Wednesday following extensive attacks around the facility.

Since Israel started bombarding Gaza on Oct. 7, more than 12,000 Palestinians have been killed, including over 8,300 women and children, and more than 30,000 others have been injured, according to the latest figures.

Thousands of buildings, including hospitals, mosques and churches, have also been damaged or destroyed in Israel’s relentless air and ground attacks on the besieged enclave.

An Israeli blockade has also cut Gaza off from fuel, electricity and water supplies, and reduced aid deliveries to a trickle.

The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is around 1,200, according to official figures.