An Israeli airstrike at a hospital in Gaza has killed five people, including a Hamas political leader, in an attack Israel claimed had targeted a key figure in the group, Reuters reports.

The Gaza Health Ministry said the strike hit the surgery department at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. The Israeli military insisted its attack followed extensive intelligence and used precise munitions to minimise harm at the site.

Hamas said a member of its political office, Ismail Barhoum, had been killed.

The military did not name the target, which it described only as “a key terrorist” in Hamas.

Video on social media showed a fire blazing on the third storey of what appeared to be the hospital. Reuters could not immediately verify the footage.