Dr. Alaa Al-Najjar never imagined that the farewell to her ten children on Friday morning, before heading to work at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, would be the last.
As she tirelessly treated wounded children who had miraculously survived Israeli airstrikes, the lifeless bodies of her own children were being carried to the morgue, burned, torn apart, some even unrecognizable.
For months, Dr. Alaa had dedicated herself to saving children’s lives amid relentless bombardment. But when devastation reached her own home, she was powerless to rescue her children or even collect their shattered remains.
Dr. Alaa and Dr. Hamdi Al-Najjar’s home was targeted, 9 of their 10 children brutally killed, the surviving husband, and one child seriously wounded. Dr. Alaa received her killed children while at work in Nasser Hospital.
Dr. Alaa is a paediatrician.
She’s keeps working.
The… pic.twitter.com/ncUUI3aR6C— Dr. Mads Gilbert (@DrMadsGilbert) May 23, 2025
An Israeli missile struck their house in the Qizan Al-Najjar neighborhood of Khan Younis, leaving behind only ruin and anguish.
The strike, executed with so-called precision military technology, deliberately targeted the residence, where her ten children and husband, Dr. Hamdi Al-Najjar, had been sheltering.
This tragedy occurred just three days after far-right Israeli politician Moshe Feiglin, leader of the Zehut party, publicly called for the extermination of infants and children in Gaza. In an interview with Israel’s Channel 14, Feiglin declared: “Every child, every infant in Gaza is an enemy.”
A Devastated Mother, A Sole Survivor
Outside the operating room at Nasser Medical Complex, Dr. Alaa stood in anguish, awaiting news of the only surviving child among her ten, clinging to life alongside their father.
Her niece, Dr. Suhair Al-Najjar, confirmed that the Israeli military had intentionally targeted the home.
“The first missile landed without detonating,” she recounted. “Minutes later, a second strike followed—obliterating the house before anyone had a chance to flee.”
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Dr. Suhair emphasized that Israeli forces, equipped with advanced surveillance technology, were fully aware that the home sheltered ten children, ranging in age from 12 years to just six months old, alongside a doctor providing humanitarian aid. Yet, they targeted it deliberately.
Through her grief, she revealed that only one of the ten children survived the strike but remains in critical condition.
“The children arrived at the hospital in unspeakable horror, burned bodies, severed limbs, some missing their heads,” she said.
Because of the extent of the mutilation, the family was unable to bid farewell to their children or even kiss their foreheads one last time.
Rescue teams recovered seven of the children’s bodies, but two remain buried beneath the rubble, their remains still unrecovered.
Palestinian Health Ministry: ‘A Crime Beyond Humanity
The Palestinian Ministry of Health issued a statement mourning Dr. Alaa’s devastating loss.
“The humanitarian catastrophe that befell our colleague, pediatric specialist Dr. Alaa Al-Najjar, following the Israeli airstrike on her home, resulting in its destruction and the martyrdom of her nine children: Yahya, Rakan, Raslan, Jubran, Eve, Rivan, Sidin, Luqman, and Sidra, represents the height of agony and the peak of brutality inflicted upon medical personnel and their families in Gaza.”
The ministry further added:
“The Palestinian health sector mourns the children of Dr. Alaa and affirms that this heinous crime is part of a systematic campaign targeting medical teams and institutions, aiming to break the resilience of Gaza’s people. Yet, these immense sacrifices will forever stand as a testament to Palestinian endurance and the unwavering heroism of healthcare workers against aggression.”
Genocide in Gaza: A Worsening Humanitarian Crisis
On Friday, 80 countries issued a joint statement to the United Nations, warning that Gaza is facing “the worst humanitarian crisis” since Israel’s war on the enclave began on October 7, 2023.
They cautioned that civilians, especially children and infants, are now at risk of starvation.
So far, the ongoing genocide has left over 176,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women. More than 11,000 people remain missing, while hundreds of thousands have been displaced, struggling to find food, water, and shelter.
