In a heart-wrenching tragedy in southern Gaza, pediatrician Dr. Alaa al-Najjar lost nine of her ten children in an Israeli airstrike that hit her home in Khan Younis. On the day of the attack, she had gone to work in the emergency room at Nasser Medical Complex, unaware that her own family would soon become the victims of the conflict.
Home Turned to Ashes
The strike, reportedly targeting a structure near Israeli troops, flattened Dr. Najjar’s house. Civil defense teams recovered the charred remains of seven of her children and rushed them to the hospital where she works. The bodies of her 7-month-old baby girl, Sidra, and a 12-year-old child are still missing and presumed dead. Her husband, Hamdi—also a doctor—was gravely injured while trying to save their children after a failed missile struck their home moments before a second one hit.
Only 11-year-old Adam survived. He was found in the street by a relative and taken to the hospital. His arm was badly injured and he remains under treatment. Dr. Najjar, overwhelmed with grief, continues working in the hospital while checking on her critically injured husband and son.
A Glimpse of the Horror
Footage released by Gaza Civil Defense shows scenes of devastation: flames consuming the house, responders pulling bodies from the rubble, and medics wrapping the small bodies in white burial shrouds. One relative, Dr. Sahar al-Najjar, described how Hamdi had dropped Alaa off at the hospital before going to get food. When he returned home, he saw the first missile strike fail to explode. He entered the house to get the children out but was caught in the second strike.
Sahar also shared an emotional moment with Dr. Alaa, who clutched the last bottle of milk she had pumped for Sidra. “Her chest aches,” she said, “as she was breastfeeding.” Despite her unimaginable loss, Dr. Najjar continues to care for other children at the hospital.
Doctors Under Fire
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in the West Bank expressed deep sorrow over the incident, calling Dr. Najjar a symbol of resilience and sacrifice. Officials stressed that this is not an isolated tragedy. According to Munir al-Boursh, Director-General of Gaza’s Health Ministry, the attack is part of a broader pattern of targeting healthcare workers and entire families in Gaza.
“This is the brutal reality our doctors face daily,” he stated, confirming the names of the nine children who died: Yahya, Rakan, Raslan, Gebran, Eve, Rival, Sayden, Luqman, and Sidra.
Senior health official Youssef Abu al-Reesh noted that Dr. Najjar had left her children behind that day to help other suffering children. When he saw her at the hospital later, she was quiet, composed, and prayerful—her grief buried beneath layers of duty.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has also reported the loss of two of its own staff members in Khan Younis, calling attention to the rising toll of civilian deaths in Gaza. As attacks continue in southern Gaza, families, medics, and aid workers bear the devastating consequences of the ongoing conflict.
