Lead: Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis publicly denounced Doctors Without Borders’ (MSF) decision to suspend most noncritical operations, saying civilian police were deployed to safeguard patients and staff. The dispute surfaced on Sunday amid a ceasefire period in which Gaza health officials report 602 Palestinians killed since Oct. 10, 2023, and 11 deaths in the preceding 24 hours. MSF said its teams halted services after reporting security breaches and the presence of armed men inside parts of the hospital compound. Nasser Hospital called those claims inaccurate and warned the suspension endangered a protected medical facility.
Key Takeaways
- MSF announced a suspension of noncritical work at Nasser Hospital in January, citing security breaches that posed risks to staff and patients.
- Nasser Hospital says it has deployed armed civilian police to protect patients and personnel after repeated attacks by masked gunmen.
- Gaza health officials report 602 Palestinians killed since the U.S.-brokered ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, 2023, with at least 11 killed in the past 24 hours.
- Israeli forces have continued strikes near the Yellow Line; Nasser Hospital received bodies from a strike that killed five men in eastern Khan Younis.
- The Israeli military alleges Nasser Hospital is used by senior Hamas officials; it offered no publicly disclosed evidence for that claim.
- The dispute reveals rare public tension between two major humanitarian actors operating in one of Gaza’s few functioning large hospitals.
Background
Nasser Hospital, located in southern Khan Younis, has been one of Gaza’s principal treatment centers during the conflict, receiving hundreds of patients and the war-wounded daily. The facility also served as a processing point for Palestinian prisoners released in exchanges tied to the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that began Oct. 10, 2023. Since the start of the hostilities on Oct. 7, 2023, hospitals in Gaza have repeatedly been contested spaces: Israel accuses militants of operating in and around medical sites, while Gaza health authorities document frequent strikes and high civilian casualties. The ceasefire reduced the heaviest fighting but has not stopped near-daily Israeli fire and intermittent militant attacks along military lines.
MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières) has operated medical programs in Gaza but said its teams observed an uptick in armed men inside parts of the Nasser compound, as well as incidents it characterized as intimidation and arbitrary detention of patients. Nasser Hospital counters that some armed presence reflects a newly organized civilian police force intended to secure the hospital after repeated intrusions by masked gunmen and militias. The patchwork of armed actors across Gaza—Hamas, other local militias and groups operating in Israeli-controlled areas—complicates security arrangements around critical services.
Main Event
MSF informed partners that, because of repeated security incidents, it suspended most nonurgent activities at Nasser Hospital in January, a move publicly disclosed only recently. The organization cited a pattern of unacceptable acts, naming the visibility of armed individuals in patient and staff areas, alleged intimidation and reports of arbitrary arrests. Nasser Hospital replied on Sunday, calling MSF’s allegations “factually incorrect” and saying civilian police were present to prevent further attacks on staff and patients.
The standoff unfolded as hospitals reported fresh casualties: Nasser Hospital said it received the bodies of five men killed by an Israeli strike in eastern Khan Younis near the Yellow Line, and Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza reported five killed in a drone strike at Jabaliya’s Falluja area. The Israeli military said it targeted militants near the Yellow Line, citing multiple ceasefire violations and attempts by armed individuals to move through debris or cross into military-held zones.
Local witnesses and family members described the Khan Younis strike as hitting people in areas they believed to be safe; Associated Press footage showed two of the deceased wearing Qassam Brigades headbands. Nasser staff and families said the presence of armed actors—both uniformed and masked—has been a recurring problem at the facility, which they say prompted the establishment of armed civilian guards. MSF officials maintain those conditions made their teams vulnerable and compromised patient safety.
The disagreement has broader operational implications: with one major NGO curtailing services at a principal hospital, patients with serious but noncritical needs face reduced access to care. Nasser remains one of the few large hospitals still functioning in parts of Gaza not under Israeli control, and any sustained withdrawal by external medical teams would increase strain on remaining staff and resources.
Analysis & Implications
The public dispute between MSF and Nasser Hospital highlights a central dilemma in conflict-zone humanitarian work: balancing impartial medical care with site security in environments where nonstate armed actors are present. MSF’s decision reflects a threshold where perceived risk to international staff and patients prompted operational change; such thresholds vary by organization and incident history. For Gaza’s health system, even temporary suspensions of NGO services can reduce capacity for surgeries, chronic disease treatment and trauma care.
Politically, the incident feeds competing narratives. Israel’s military uses allegations of militant use of hospitals to justify targeting decisions; Gaza authorities and medical facilities emphasize civilian protection and accuse external actors of abandoning patients. The lack of independently verifiable evidence for some claims—coupled with differing security assessments—creates space for competing public statements rather than a shared de-escalation mechanism.
Operationally, the presence of multiple armed groups and ad hoc security forces complicates coordination. A civilian police force at a hospital can deter opportunistic attacks but may also be perceived by some external actors as a security risk if those officers are armed or affiliated with local factions. For international organizations, perceived loss of neutrality or safety leads to service adjustments that have immediate human costs—longer waits, deferred procedures and overburdened neighboring facilities.
Comparison & Data
| Metric | Since Ceasefire (from Oct. 10, 2023) | Past 24 Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Palestinian deaths (Gaza health officials) | 602 | 11 |
| Israeli soldiers reported killed | 4 | 0 |
The table above places recent strikes and the MSF suspension in the context of ongoing casualties recorded since the ceasefire. Gaza’s health ministry maintains the casualty counts (602 since Oct. 10), a figure used by U.N. agencies and independent monitors as a baseline for humanitarian planning. Daily variations—such as the 11 deaths reported in the last 24 hours—underscore how localized incidents continue to generate fatalities despite the broader ceasefire framework.
Reactions & Quotes
We faced security breaches that placed our teams and patients at risk, forcing a suspension of nonurgent care.
MSF (organization statement)
MSF framed its move as protective of staff and patients; organization spokespeople emphasized that the suspension followed repeated incidents rather than a single episode. The statement was positioned as a safety-driven operational decision rather than a political judgment.
Those claims are false and threaten the status of the hospital as a protected medical facility.
Nasser Hospital (official response)
Nasser Hospital disputed MSF’s account, saying civilian police were deployed to defend against previous attacks by masked gunmen. Hospital administrators argued that the MSF announcement mischaracterized on-site security and risked stigmatizing the facility.
MSF’s step is important, though we believe it should have come sooner given our intelligence assessments.
Israel military (statement)
The Israeli military reiterated its earlier allegations that Nasser Hospital was used as a command or operational location by senior militants, saying MSF’s withdrawal validated their concerns; the military did not publish conclusive evidence in its public remarks.
Unconfirmed
- The Israeli military’s claim that Nasser Hospital serves as a headquarters for senior Hamas officials has not been substantiated with publicly released evidence.
- Specific allegations by MSF about arbitrary arrests of patients inside the compound have not been independently verified in public records available to reporters.
- The exact affiliations and command structures of the armed civilian police at Nasser Hospital remain unclear from open-source statements.
Bottom Line
The MSF suspension and Nasser Hospital’s rebuttal expose operational fault lines in Gaza’s humanitarian response: disagreement over on-the-ground security can quickly reduce medical access in an already strained system. With 602 Palestinians reported killed since the Oct. 10 ceasefire and fresh strikes continuing, disruptions to major hospitals have immediate life-and-death consequences for noncritical and emergency care alike.
Resolving such disputes will require transparent, third-party security assessments and clearer mechanisms for safeguarding medical neutrality that are accepted by local facilities, international NGOs and, where relevant, external parties. Absent that, hospitals like Nasser risk becoming flashpoints that further erode health services during a fragile pause in broader hostilities.
Sources
- Associated Press — News report summarizing statements from MSF, Nasser Hospital and Israeli military (press/independent)
- Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) — Organization website and press releases (official)
- Israel Defense Forces (IDF) — Official military statements and public briefings (official)