In a recent report, NBC painted a contradictory picture of Gazan medical facilities, once again treating Hamas’ documented pattern of using hospitals for military purposes as an unsubstantiated Israeli rumor. While the network reported on the elimination of a Hamas terrorist killed by a targeted strike at Gaza’s Nasser Hospital, it failed to detail Hamas’ pattern of exploiting civilian medical infrastructure in Gaza which has been ongoing since before the war started.
Overnight on Nov. 12, the IDF stated it struck a “Hamas brigade commander [along with other terrorists] hiding in” Gaza’s Nasser Hospital. Named as Khan Yunis Brigade Commander Muhammad Abu Ismail, the IDF said the terrorist leader was “responsible for directing terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops and for holding numerous hostages throughout the war [in Gaza].” The announcement also noted that “advance warnings were issued to the civilian population” prior to the strike.
Nasser Hospital, Gaza, retrieved for creative commons usage
NBC quickly picked up on the story, titling its article, “Israeli strike on Gaza’s Nasser Hospital kills at least six people, officials say.” Journalist Chantal Da Silva, who has a history of one-sided coverage on Gaza, reported that “an Israeli airstrike … killed at least six people, the Health Ministry in the Palestinian enclave said Thursday,” The lede kept out the key detail that the Gaza Health Ministry is a Hamas-controlled entity, responsible for inflating casualty numbers in Gaza throughout the war and spreading unsubstantiated claims about IDF actions in the strip.
Despite this, Da Silva reported that a significant Hamas figure was eliminated. Israeli outlet Ynet reported that Hamas’ Khaled Abu Anza was killed in the strike. Though the IDF did not confirm his identity or status at the time of Da Silva’s piece, Abu Anza’s sister told NBC that Khaled was indeed eliminated in the strike. Da Silva then went out of her way to dedicate two paragraphs to try and prove Abu Anza was not in Hamas, quoting his sister as stating that “He did not come to the hospital to engage in combat or resistance. He came for medical treatment.”
Da Silva noted “hospitals have protected status under international law, but they have been heavily targeted under Israel’s yearslong offensive in Gaza.” But the journalist omits the critically relevant caveat to that “protected status.” As the International Committee of the Red Cross correctly notes, the protected status “ends when medical facilities are used for military purposes such as sheltering unwounded soldiers or military intelligence activities.”
That is exactly what the IDF and other independent sources have all alleged has happened.
Da Silva glosses over this, but dishonestly treats it as a “he said, she said” situation.
Block Quote: The Israeli military has repeatedly accused Hamas of operating within medical facilities, a charge the militant group has denied. End Block Quote
Da Silva even quoted Gazan doctor, Ayman Abu Obeid, who stated he was unaware of any “resistance fighters or combatants present” in the area of the hospital that was targeted, his preferred terminology for describing Hamas terrorists. So-called “resistance” is the very core of Hamas’ namesake, Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya, translating from Arabic as the Islamic Resistance Movement.
But the situation isn’t simply an IDF said, Hamas denied situation. There are many independent sources corroborating the IDF’s claim. In January 2026, Doctors Without Borders suspended non-urgent medical activities at Nasser Hospital over the presence of “masked armed men” and “suspected movement of weapons.”
Medication meant for Israeli hostages recovered from Nasser Hospital
As CAMERA recently noted, evidence that Palestinian terrorists have used Nasser Hospital for military purposes has been plentiful since the war in Gaza began. CAMERA’s David Litman has listed these instances:
- Former Israeli hostage Ada Sagi, told the BBC she spent part of her captivity at Nasser Hospital. Referring to the hospital staff, she said: “People say that they are not involved. They’re involved… and getting money for each of us.”
- A rocket was fired from the hospital compound in January 2024.
- During a February 2024 operation4, Israeli forces found sealed boxes of medicine with the names of hostages that were supposed to be provided to them as part of a deal brokered by France and Qatar.
- Over 100 terrorists were found at the hospital during an operation at the hospital, including more than 20 who participated in the Oct. 7 massacre.
- Large quantities of weapons, including some in a vehicle used by Hamas in the Oct. 7 massacre, were located in the hospital during the operation.
- In December 2024, the Palestinian Authority reported that Hamas was using Nasser Hospital for “summonses, interrogations, and extortions,” providing an image of one such summons.
- Multiple prominent Hamas terrorists have been located and killed at Nasser Hospital during the course of the war, including Hamas’s finance chief Ismail Barhoum, Hassan Eslaiah, and Brigadier General Ahmed al-Qudra.
- During June 2025 clashes between Hamas forces and a Palestinian clan, locals reported that Hamas fighters used Nasser Hospital as a stronghold, including a Hamas sniper located on the roof who shot a 16-year-old boy.
- In November 2025, Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a Palestinian and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, relayed a report from a friend who was taken by Hamas to a torture center located in Nasser Hospital alongside a dozen other Gazans.
- Additional reports from Palestinian activists refer to Hamas using Nasser Hospital to summon residents for recruitment
Given the overwhelming evidence from numerous sources, NBC cannot treat Hamas’ use of Gazan hospitals as an unproven IDF talking point while simultaneously reporting that a Hamas terrorist commander was killed inside of one. Pretending it does not exist, while laundering Hamas’ denials leaves reader with a twisted story fed by those perpetrating the gross international crime of abusing medical facilities and stripping them of their protected status. NBC should not absolve Hamas of its responsibility for bringing the fighting through the doors of Gaza’s hospitals.