An air strike by Israel in Gaza struck the residence of a doctor, resulting in the deaths of nine of her ten children, according to the hospital where she is employed in Khan Younis.
Nasser hospital reported that while one of Dr. Alaa al-Najjar's children and her husband were injured, they both survived.
Graeme Groom, a British surgeon working at the hospital who performed surgery on her surviving 11-year-old son, expressed to the BBC that it was "unbearably cruel" for a mother who dedicated her life to caring for children as a pediatrician to lose nearly all of her own in just one missile strike.
The Israeli military stated that its aircraft targeted "several suspects" in Khan Younis on Friday, and that it is currently assessing the claim regarding the impact on uninvolved civilians.
A video shared by the director of the Hamas-run health ministry, verified by the BBC, depicted small charred bodies being pulled from the debris following the strike in Khan Younis.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) asserted that their "aircraft targeted several suspects identified as operating from a structure near IDF troops in the Khan Younis area."
"The Khan Younis region is considered a hazardous war zone. Before commencing operations there, the IDF evacuated civilians from this region for their own protection," the Israeli military stated.
In a broader statement released on Saturday, the IDF mentioned that it had attacked over 100 targets across Gaza in the preceding day.
According to the health ministry, at least 74 individuals were killed by the Israeli military within the 24 hours leading up to around midday Saturday.
Dr. Muneer Alboursh, director of the health ministry, shared on X that the residence of the al-Najjar family was struck mere minutes after Dr. al-Najjar's husband, Hamdi, returned home from driving his wife to work.
Dr. Alboursh noted that the oldest of Dr. Al-Najjar's children was only 12 years old.
Mr. Groom stated that the children's father was "extremely injured" in a video shared on the Instagram account of another British surgeon at Nasser hospital, Victoria Rose.
He mentioned to the BBC that the father had sustained a "penetrating injury to the head."
He inquired about the father, who is also a physician at the hospital, and was informed that he had "no political or military affiliations and does not appear to be a notable figure on social media."
He remarked that the situation for Dr. Alaa al-Najjar was "unimaginable."
Mr. Groom described the surviving 11-year-old boy, Adam, as "rather small" for his age.
"His left arm was nearly severed, he was covered in fragmentation wounds, and he had multiple significant lacerations," he conveyed to the BBC.
"Although both his parents are doctors, which places him in a relatively privileged category in Gaza, he appeared much younger than 11 as we placed him onto the operating table."
"Our little boy has a chance to survive, but we are uncertain about his father's condition," he concluded.
Mahmoud Basal, the spokesperson for the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency in Gaza, stated on Telegram on Friday afternoon that his teams had retrieved eight bodies and several injured individuals from the al-Najjar residence located near a petrol station in Khan Younis.
Initially, the hospital announced on Facebook that eight children had died, but two hours later revised that number to nine.
Another physician, Youssef Abu al-Rish, mentioned in a statement shared by the health ministry that upon arriving at the operating room, he found Dr. al-Najjar waiting for news about her surviving son and tried to offer her comfort.
In an interview captured by AFP news agency, relative Youssef al-Najjar expressed: "Enough! Have mercy on us! We urge all countries, the international community, the populace, Hamas, and all factions to show us mercy.
"We are drained from the displacement and hunger, enough!"
On Friday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres cautioned that individuals in Gaza were suffering through what might be "the cruelest phase" of the conflict and criticized Israel's blockade on humanitarian aid that was imposed in March.
Earlier this week, Israel eased the blockade to some extent. The Israeli military body Cogat reported that 83 additional trucks carrying flour, food, medical supplies, and pharmaceutical products entered Gaza on Friday.
The UN has consistently stated that the volume of aid coming in is far from sufficient for the region's 2.1 million residents—stating that between 500 to 600 trucks a day are necessary—and has urged Israel to permit much more aid.
The minuscule amount of food that trickled into Gaza this week led to chaotic situations, with armed thieves targeting an aid convoy and Palestinians gathering outside bakeries in a desperate bid to secure bread.
A UN-supported assessment this month indicated that Gaza's population faced a "critical risk" of famine.
People in Gaza have communicated to the BBC that they are without food, and malnourished mothers are unable to breastfeed their infants.
Chronic water shortages are worsening as desalination and sanitation facilities are running low on fuel, exacerbated by Israel's expanding military actions that are causing further displacement.
Israel claims that the blockade aims to pressure Hamas into releasing hostages currently held in Gaza.
Israel has accused Hamas of stealing supplies, a claim the group has refuted.
In response to Hamas's cross-border assault on October 7, 2023, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and 251 hostages taken, Israel initiated a military operation in Gaza.
Since that date, the health ministry in Gaza reports that at least 53,901 individuals, including around 16,500 children, have died.
0 Comments