Dr. Alaa al-Najjar left her ten children at home on Friday to work in the emergency room of the Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, seven children’s bodies arrived at the hospital hours later, the majority of whom were severely burned. Dr. Najjar’s children were killed in an Israeli airstrike on her family’s home, according to Gaza Civil Defense.
The oldest was twelve, and the youngest was only three years old. As of Saturday morning, two more children’s bodies remained trapped under the rubble: a 7-month-old and a two-year-old.
Only one of her critically injured children survived. Dr. Najjar’s husband, also a doctor, was severely injured in the strike.
According to civil defense and the health ministry, an Israeli airstrike targeted the family’s home in the Khan Younis neighborhood of southern Gaza.
In response to a CNN request for comment, the Israeli military stated that aircraft “struck a number of suspects who were identified operating from a structure adjacent to IDF troops in the area of Khan Yunis.” It said it was investigating the claim that civilians had been killed.
Gaza Civil Defense released graphic video from the scene of the strike. It showed medics lifting an injured man onto a stretcher while other first responders attempted to extinguish a fire that had engulfed the house. They pull the charred remains of several children from the debris and wrap them in white sheets.
‘Wiping out whole families’
According to Munir al-Barsh, Director-General of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Dr. Najjar’s husband had just returned home when it was struck.
“Nine of their children were killed: Yahya, Rakan, Raslan, Gebran, Eve, Rival, Sayden, Luqman, and Sidra,” Barsh told X. He mentioned that her husband was in intensive care.
“This is the reality that our medical staff in Gaza face. Words are insufficient to describe the pain. Israel’s aggression in Gaza targets more than just healthcare workers, wiping out entire families, according to Barsh.
Dr. Ahmad al-Farra, a doctor at the Nasser Medical Complex, told CNN that despite losing her children, Dr. Najjar continued to work while periodically checking on the health of her husband and only surviving child, Adam, who is eleven.
Farra said that both the father and son had two surgeries at the hospital and are still being treated.
Youssef Abu al-Reesh, a senior official at the Health Ministry, stated that Dr. Najjar had left her children at home to “fulfill her duty and calling toward all those sick children who have no place but Nasser Hospital.”
Reesh stated that when he arrived at the hospital, he noticed her “standing tall, calm, patient, composed, with eyes full of acceptance.” You could only hear quiet murmurs from her about (glorifying God) and (seeking forgiveness).”
Dr. Najjar, 38, is a pediatrician who, like most doctors in Gaza, has been working in the emergency room during Israel’s assault on the territory.
