KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA STRIP – A devastating Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis has reportedly killed nine children of a prominent doctor couple, leaving their family shattered and sparking renewed international outrage over the escalating human toll of the conflict. The incident, which occurred on Friday, May 23rd, has been confirmed by Gaza’s civil defense agency and hospital officials, while the Israeli military states it is reviewing the reports.
The victims, ranging in age from seven months to 12 years old, were identified as the children of Dr. Hamdi al-Najjar and his wife, Dr. Alaa al-Najjar, both medical professionals working in Gaza. According to the civil defense agency spokesman, Mahmud Bassal, rescuers retrieved “the bodies of nine child martyrs, some of them charred, from the home.” Dr. Hamdi al-Najjar and another son, 10-year-old Adam, were also reportedly seriously wounded in the strike.
The Al-Najjar family’s home in the Qizan al-Najjar area was hit shortly after Dr. Hamdi al-Najjar had returned from driving his wife, a pediatrician at Nasser Hospital, to work. Dr. Alaa al-Najjar was reportedly on duty at the hospital, treating other victims of Israeli attacks, when she received the horrific news. Colleagues at Nasser Hospital described the unspeakable grief of Dr. Alaa al-Najjar as she arrived to find the bodies of her own children.
“It is unbelievably cruel that a mother who spends years caring for children as a pediatrician could lose almost all her own in a single missile strike,” said Dr. Graeme Groom, a British surgeon working at Nasser Hospital who operated on the surviving son, Adam.
Footage released by Gaza’s civil defense agency and verified by multiple news outlets shows rescue crews pulling small, burned bodies from the rubble as flames still engulfed the family’s home. The scene underscored the dire conditions faced by rescue workers in the besieged enclave, who often lack proper equipment to manage the vast scale of destruction.
The Israeli military, when asked about the incident, stated that its aircraft had “struck a number of suspects who were identified operating from a structure adjacent to IDF troops in the area of Khan Younis.” They added that “the Khan Younis area is a dangerous warzone” and that civilians had been evacuated from the area for their safety. The military concluded by stating, “The claim regarding harm to uninvolved civilians is under review.”
However, health officials in Gaza and human rights advocates have fiercely condemned the strike as a “full-fledged war crime,” accusing Israel of deliberately targeting civilians and their families. Dr. Muneer Alboursh, director general of the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, posted on X that the strike happened minutes after Dr. Hamdi al-Najjar returned home. “This is the reality our medical staff in Gaza endure. Words fall short in describing the pain,” he wrote, accusing Israel of “wiping out entire families.”
The incident comes amidst a continued escalation of Israeli military operations in Gaza, particularly in Khan Younis, which has faced heavy bombardment. UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated on Friday that people in Gaza were enduring “the cruellest phase” of the war, criticizing Israel’s ongoing blockade on humanitarian aid.
The tragedy of the Al-Najjar family’s loss stands as a stark and heartbreaking reminder of the devastating human cost of the conflict in Gaza, with the civilian death toll continuing to mount daily. International calls for a ceasefire and increased humanitarian access are expected to intensify in the wake of this latest horrific incident.