Footage from Gaza hospital sparks speculation senior Hamas target hit

In the video, Hamas police could be seen using batons to distance people.

  Nasser hospital, December 4, 2023 (photo credit:  REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)
Nasser hospital, December 4, 2023
(photo credit: REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)

Footage appearing to show Hamas members distancing people from a vehicle that arrived at the Nasser hospital in southern Gaza sparked speculation that a high-ranking target had been hit amid Israeli airstrikes on Monday evening.

In the video, Hamas police could be seen using batons to distance people after an ambulance and a civilian vehicle arrived at the entrance to the hospital.

The video shows the ambulance before cutting suddenly to a scene where the ambulance has already left. Shortly before the cut, people can be heard instructing those at the scene to stop filming. It is unclear who was being carried in the ambulance and the civilian car or why the video had been cut.

 An Israeli soldier gestures towards a tank crew member as it crosses a road, as part of the convoy, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, near Israel's border with southern Gaza, in Israel, December 4, 2023 (credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)
An Israeli soldier gestures towards a tank crew member as it crosses a road, as part of the convoy, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, near Israel's border with southern Gaza, in Israel, December 4, 2023 (credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)

IDF advances toward Khan Yunis

The footage came as the IDF intensified its airstrikes on targets in Khan Yunis and Rafah in southern Gaza, with Palestinian reports indicating that dozens of strikes were conducted within a matter of a half an hour. Senior Hamas members, including the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, are reportedly hiding in Khan Yunis.

Additionally, Palestinian media reported that IDF ground forces were advancing from several directions toward Khan Yunis on Monday evening.