At least nine out of the 10 children of a doctor who worked at the Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza died after a suspected Israeli airstrike hit their home on Friday.
Nasser hospital told BBC that one of Dr Alaa al-Najjar’s children and her husband were injured, but survived.
Graeme Groom, a British surgeon working in the hospital who operated on her surviving 11-year-old boy, told the BBC it was “unbearably cruel” that his mother, who spent years caring for children as a paediatrician, could lose almost all her own in a single missile strike.
All the deceased children were reportedly aged less than 12.
The doctor was present in the hospital when the airstrike occurred.
Hamas’s civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal was quoted as saying by The Times of Israel that the agency had retrieved “the bodies of nine child martyrs, some of them charred, from the home of Dr Hamdi al-Najjar and his wife, Dr Alaa al-Najjar, all of whom were their children.”
IDF Responds
Confirming the strike, Israel Defense Forces said it targeted several suspects identified at a building near where ground troops were operating.
“The Khan Younis area is a dangerous combat zone that the IDF ordered civilians to evacuate for their safety before the start of the operation,” the military was quoted as saying by The Times of Israel, referring to a warning issued on Monday.
“The claims about harm to uninvolved [civilians] are being looked into,” it added.
Dr. Muneer Alboursh Reacts On X
Muneer Alboursh, director general of the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, reacted to the strike and wrote on X: “Dr. Alaa Al-Najjar, who lost nine of her children and received the bodies of seven of them while performing her duties, did not leave her post at Nasser Hospital or take off her white coat after receiving her children as martyrs. Her husband, Dr. Hamdi Al-Najjar—who now lies in intensive care—had the opportunity to leave Gaza since the beginning of the war, but he chose to stay, telling his friends: ‘We are steadfast’.”
Antonio Guterres’ five-stage plan
The UN Secretary-General on Friday outlined a five-stage plan to provide lifesaving aid to the stricken population of Gaza, making clear the organisation will not take part in any scheme that fails to respect international law or basic humanitarian principles.
Addressing reporters outside the Security Council, António Guterres called once again for a permanent ceasefire to end the fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas militants, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and full humanitarian access so aid can flow in following nearly 80 days of Israeli blockade.
‘Cruellest phase’
He said Palestinians in the enclave are now “enduring what may be the cruellest phase of this cruel conflict,” with families being “starved and denied the very basics,” as Israel intensifies its offensive and promotes a new privatised aid distribution network reportedly due to begin on Sunday which would bypass the UN and partner organizations’ aid operation.
Israel has clear obligations under international humanitarian law to treat civilians in Gaza humanely, Guterres added, and “must not forcibly transport, deport or displace the civilian population of an occupied territory.”
He noted that despite authorising a “trickle of aid” to enter in recent days, supplies from only 115 out of 400 trucks have been cleared for collection and distribution – while nothing has reached the besieged north.
