ABNA24 - British volunteer surgeon Jawad Rahbour has described witnessing the Israeli strike on Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, early Thursday, November 12, which killed six Palestinians, including surgeon Dr. Rizq Abu Shaeera, and injured dozens more.
Rahbour, who was inside the hospital when the attack occurred, had worked alongside Abu Shaeera just hours before he was martyred.
Speaking to the Associated Press, the British surgeon said the explosion shook the building and filled it with smoke, leaving extensive damage to vital medical facilities, including the surgical department.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, the strike hit the hospital’s surgical wing, severely damaging several floors, recovery areas and other medical facilities. Images from the scene showed shattered rooms, scattered medical equipment and injured patients being transported through damaged corridors.
Rahbour is a consultant general surgeon with Britain’s National Health Service (NHS). He previously volunteered at Nasser Hospital between May and June 2025 through Medical Aid for Palestinians, witnessing mass casualties, critically injured children and severe shortages of medical supplies.
In July 2025, he also addressed a British parliamentary briefing on Gaza’s healthcare crisis, describing the overwhelming pressure on medical workers and the hospital’s limited resources.
Following Thursday’s strike, the Israeli military claimed it had targeted a Hamas commander and other operatives, alleging that the hospital had been used for military command activities.
However, the Associated Press reported that the military had provided no evidence supporting its allegations that the hospital served as a command center.
Rahbour’s account offers firsthand testimony of the hospital’s medical activities and the loss of a colleague with whom he had worked only hours earlier, although it does not independently establish the validity of all competing claims about the attack.
His testimony highlights the dangers facing healthcare workers in Gaza, where medical personnel continue treating the wounded despite severe shortages and repeated attacks on healthcare facilities.
For Rahbour, Abu Shaeera was not merely another name among the casualties, but a fellow surgeon who had been saving lives alongside him shortly before the hospital itself became the scene of death and destruction.
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