Nine of Dr. Alaa Al Najjar's ten children were killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit her family home in southern Gaza, according to officials at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, where she works as a pediatrician. The strike also left her husband, Dr. Hamdi Al Najjar, critically injured and their surviving 11-year-old son badly wounded. The attack occurred Friday while Dr. Al Najjar was at work.
Graphic footage verified by media and posted by the Hamas-run Palestinian Civil Defence shows rescue workers pulling at least seven children's bodies from rubble. The family lived near a petrol station in Khan Younis, which British doctors working at the hospital say may have contributed to the scale of the destruction.
Dr. Graeme Groom, a British surgeon at Nasser Hospital, said in a video diary that he had operated on Dr. Al Najjar's surviving 11-year-old son, who was badly injured and "seemed much younger as we lifted him on to the operating table." Groom added that the boy's father was "very badly injured" and described the situation as "unimaginable for that poor woman."
Another British doctor at the hospital, Dr. Victoria Rose, remarked on the circumstances of the explosion, saying, The family "lived opposite a petrol station, so I don't know whether the bomb set off some massive fire." She called the events "horrific."
Dr. Muneer Alboursh, director general of Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, confirmed that the eldest of the children was 12. He stated: "This is the reality our medical staff in Gaza endure. Words fall short in describing the pain."
The health ministry said the family home was struck just minutes after Dr. Hamdi Al Najjar had returned home from driving his wife to work. Footage shared by the ministry showed responders battling fires and carrying bodies wrapped in white burial shrouds. Initially, eight children were confirmed dead, later updated to nine.
A relative, Youssef Al Najjar, told AFP: "Enough! Have mercy on us! We plead to all countries, the international community, the people, Hamas, and all factions to have mercy on us. We are exhausted from the displacement and the hunger, enough!"
The Israeli Defense Forces said Saturday it had struck more than 100 targets across Gaza in the past 24 hours. The IDF has not specifically commented on the strike that hit the Al Najjar home, despite repeated requests by media outlets.
The airstrike came amid what UN Secretary-General António Guterres described Friday as "the cruellest phase" of the war. Israel's blockade on aid, partially lifted earlier this week, has sparked chaos in Gaza. Armed looters reportedly attacked convoys, while civilians gathered desperately outside bakeries.
According to the Hamas-run health ministry, at least 53,901 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, including over 16,500 children. The UN has warned of "critical risk" of famine for Gaza's 2.1 million residents, as only a fraction of the 500-600 daily trucks needed are reaching the territory.
Israel has said the blockade aims to pressure Hamas into releasing remaining hostages from the group's October 7 attack, which killed about 1,200 people in Israel and led to the abduction of 251 others. Israel has also accused Hamas of commandeering aid supplies, a claim the militant group denies.
