by George Conger, Anglican Ink
The Israeli military confirmed it carried out a strike on the al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City today prompting protests from the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Archbishop of York.
In an official statement, posted on 5 June 2025, the IDF stated it “precisely struck an Islamic Jihad terrorist who was operating in a command-and-control centre” located within the hospital grounds.
“The terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip continue to use the [al-Ahli] hospital for terrorist purposes, cynically and cruelly exploiting the civilian population in and around the hospital. Prior to the attack, steps were taken to reduce the chance of harming civilians, including the use of precision weapons, aerial observations, and additional intelligence information.”
The strike killed at least five people, including three journalists, according to the Episcopal Church, which manages the hospital. The diocese condemned the attack “in the strongest possible terms” and reported that about 30 others were injured, including hospital staff.
The BBC reports the journalists killed were members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)’s press team. Israel has accused terror groups of exploiting civilian infrastructure like hospitals and schools for military purposes, a tactic Hamas has historically used. In 2021 Reuters reported that the late Yahya Sinwar (the mastermind behind the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel) claimed 500 km of military tunnels had been dug around Gaza, including some under hospitals, schools, mosques and churches.