Gaza pediatrician loses nine of her 10 children in Israeli airstrike
Gaza pediatrician loses nine of her 10 children in Israeli airstrike
One of Dr. al-Najjar’s children survived, along with her husband, who is in critical condition
One of Dr. al-Najjar’s children survived, along with her husband, who is in critical condition
Dr. Alaa al-Najjar cries while seeing her injured husband, Dr. Hamdi al-Najjar at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip on May 23, 2025. [Anadolu Photo]
Dr. Alaa al-Najjar cries while seeing her injured husband, Dr. Hamdi al-Najjar at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip on May 23, 2025. [Anadolu Photo]
An Israeli airstrike in a Khan Younis suburb in the Gaza Strip on Friday killed nine of the 10 children of Dr. Alaa al-Najjar, a pediatrician working at the Nasser Medical Complex, one of the enclave’s last functioning hospitals. The nine children killed were Yahya, 12, Rakan, 10, Eve, 9, Jibran, 8, Ruslan, 7, Rival, 5, Sadeen, 3, Luqman, 2, and Sedar, less than 1 years old.
According to Dr. Ahmed al-Farra, head of pediatrics and obstetrics at the Tahrir clinic in the hospital, al-Najjar was on her shift tending to the injured after airstrikes hit the Qizan an-Najjar suburb, where her family resides.
As bodies were coming into the morgue however, she recognized her children among the dead, some of whom were reportedly decapitated.
British surgeon Graeme Groom told the BBC that he had operated on the surviving child, 11-year-old Adam.
Groom said that Adam “felt much younger than 11” as they lifted him onto the operating table, presumably due to the ongoing famine in Gaza.
He also operated on al-Najjar's husband, Dr. Hamdi al-Najjar, who also works at the hospital and had a "penetrating injury to his head.”
When asked for comment from ABC News, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said the airstrike “struck a number of suspects who were identified operating from a structure adjacent to IDF troops in the area of Khan Yunis.”
They also are reviewing the claim “regarding harm to uninvolved civilians.”
Editor in Chief Khalid Alsadek contributed to the reporting of this story.
An Israeli airstrike in a Khan Younis suburb in the Gaza Strip on Friday killed nine of the 10 children of Dr. Alaa al-Najjar, a pediatrician working at the Nasser Medical Complex, one of the enclave’s last functioning hospitals. The nine children killed were Yahya, 12, Rakan, 10, Eve, 9, Jibran, 8, Ruslan, 7, Rival, 5, Sadeen, 3, Luqman, 2, and Sedar, less than 1 years old.
According to Dr. Ahmed al-Farra, head of pediatrics and obstetrics at the Tahrir clinic in the hospital, al-Najjar was on her shift tending to the injured after airstrikes hit the Qizan an-Najjar suburb, where her family resides.
As bodies were coming into the morgue however, she recognized her children among the dead, some of whom were reportedly decapitated.
British surgeon Graeme Groom told the BBC that he had operated on the surviving child, 11-year-old Adam.
Groom said that Adam “felt much younger than 11” as they lifted him onto the operating table, presumably due to the ongoing famine in Gaza.
He also operated on al-Najjar's husband, Dr. Hamdi al-Najjar, who also works at the hospital and had a "penetrating injury to his head.”
When asked for comment from ABC News, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said the airstrike “struck a number of suspects who were identified operating from a structure adjacent to IDF troops in the area of Khan Yunis.”
They also are reviewing the claim “regarding harm to uninvolved civilians.”
Editor in Chief Khalid Alsadek contributed to the reporting of this story.
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