The Israel Air Force struck terrorists from Hamas' Aerial Defense Unit in a command and control center embedded in what had previously been the Al Wafa Hospital in the Shejaia area of Gaza City on Sunday, the military stated.
"The building does not currently serve as a hospital," the IDF emphasized.
The strike, which was based on intelligence provided by the Military Intelligence Directorate and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), was conducted using precise munitions to reduce risk to civilians in the area, the IDF added.
The military also said it took additional precautions, including the use of aerial surveillance and other intelligence, in order to minimize potential civilian harm.
"The command and control center was used by the terrorists to plan and execute terrorist attacks against IDF troops in the immediate future," the IDF said, adding that Hamas's tactic of embedding military infrastructure in what had been a hospital was "a further example of the Hamas terrorist organization’s systematic abuse of civilian infrastructure and the Gaza population in violation of international law."
Seven killed in Israeli strike on hospital in Gaza, Hamas-run civil defense says
Earlier, Reuters cited the Hamas-run Palestinian civil defense as reporting that seven people were killed, and others were badly hurt in the strike on the upper floor of the hospital.
The Hamas-run official bodies in Gaza do not distinguish between combatant and civilian casualties.