'A carcass': Australian doctor describes devastation at Gaza hospital after lethal Israeli strike

Detailed summary

Dr Saya Aziz recently returned from serving at one of the devastated enclave's hospitals — one that was bombed on Friday.

This story contains highly distressing content about injuries and fatalities.

An Australian doctor has described her shock at hearing that a Gaza hospital where she recently served had been targeted by an Israeli airstrike, which reportedly killed at least six Palestinians, including a surgeon and a 13-year-old boy.

In the early hours of Thursday, the airstrike hit a building housing surgery wards at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, where Brisbane anaesthetist Dr Saya Aziz had been based for three weeks.

Medics and witnesses said two missiles crashed through the roof of the five-storey building, causing extensive damage. The surgery department, which serves half of Gaza's two million people, was knocked out of service.

Twenty others were wounded in the attack, which Israel's military said targeted a senior Hamas commander, while also accusing Hamas militants of using the hospital complex to plan attacks, which the group has denied.

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

Among those killed was Rezik Abushira, a surgeon who was featured in a 2026 documentary, American Doctor, working alongside three doctors visiting from the US. Aziz had also worked with Abushira before the fatal strike.

"The place is completely destroyed. And for me, it's so shocking", Aziz told SBS News.

"There was even a kid who was being prepped to come to theatre, and he was 13, and he actually died.

Opening of the article, excerpted from SBS News. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.