A Palestinian paediatrician lost nine of her children in an Israeli airstrike while she was treating wounded patients at a Gaza hospital.
In one of the most harrowing attacks since Israel began its war on Gaza, Dr Alaa al-Najjar, a paediatrician at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, suffered unimaginable loss when an Israeli airstrike obliterated her home, killing nine of her ten children and critically injuring her husband.
The strike occurred at dawn on May 23, shortly after Dr Alaa was dropped off at work by her husband, Dr Hamdi al-Najjar.
Their ten children — none older than twelve — were at home in the Qizan al-Najjar neighbourhood awaiting breakfast when the attack happened. According to medical officials, the home was initially struck by a dud missile, followed moments later by a second, more powerful warhead that reduced the building to rubble.
Among the children killed were Yahya (12), Rakan (10), Eve (9), Jubran (8), Raslan (7), Rifan (5), Sadeen (3), Luqman (2) and Sidar, who was just a few months old. Only one child, Adam, survived the bombing but remains in critical condition in the intensive care unit.
Dr Alaa, known for treating Gaza’s wounded children since the war began, faced her worst nightmare when her own children were brought to the hospital in a state described as “shilo” — a Gazan term for dismembered human fragments. Several were burned beyond recognition, others were decapitated. Their remains were barely identifiable.
“Gaza today is all shilo,” Dr Alaa said. “Shilo of a child here, shilo of a hand searching for its body, shilo of a heart that stopped before it ever knew love.”
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Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Dr Suheir al-Najjar, a relative and fellow physician, confirmed that the Israeli army deliberately targeted the house, which they knew sheltered ten children and a doctor. She said: “They gave no one inside a chance to escape.” Seven bodies were recovered by civil defence teams, while two remain trapped under the rubble.
The attack has sparked outrage across Palestinian society and international observers. Hamas condemned the strike as a “barbaric massacre” and one of the most “atrocious crimes in modern history against medical teams,” accusing Israel of operating with a “deep-rooted vengeful spirit” driven by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
The Government Media Office in Gaza called the strike a “fully fledged war crime.” Munir al-Bursh, Director-General of Gaza’s Health Ministry, added: “Words are not enough to describe the pain. In Gaza, the occupation does not just target medical staff — it wipes out entire families.”
This latest atrocity came just days after far-right Israeli politician Moshe Feiglin declared that “every child, every baby in Gaza is an enemy,” further fuelling accusations that Israel is engaged in a deliberate campaign of genocide.
Since the start of the war in October 2023, Israel has rejected international ceasefire calls and intensified its assault on the besieged enclave. As of late May, over 53,900 Palestinians have been killed, the majority women and children. The Ministry of Health recently reported that 16,503 of the dead are children, including 916 infants.
International legal bodies have taken unprecedented steps in response to Israel’s actions. In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice.
