Smoke was seen rising over the destroyed buildings in Gaza during an Israeli bombardment on a Friday. Alaa al-Najjar, a paediatrician, was at a hospital in the southern Gaza Strip treating injured children when she received the devastating news. Her own 10 children were in their home when it was bombed in an Israeli air strike. With no transportation, she rushed to the family house in Khan Yunis, only to find a heartbreaking scene awaiting her.
The home had been hit, and nine of her children had tragically lost their lives, their bodies unrecognizable due to burns. The tenth child, 10-year-old Adam, survived but was in critical condition, along with his father, Hamdi al-Najjar, who is also a doctor. Both were in intensive care at Nasser Hospital. Alaa’s grief was palpable as she screamed for her daughter Nibal, whose body was recovered from the rubble. The following day, she sat in shock under a tent near the destroyed home, surrounded by mourning women and the sounds of explosions in the war-torn territory.
The air strike that took the lives of Alaa’s children was sudden, with no warning given, according to relatives. The Israeli military stated that they had targeted individuals operating from a structure near their troops, and were reviewing claims of civilian casualties. Alaa’s sister, Sahar, tearfully expressed her devastation at not being able to recognize the children in their shrouds. Hamdi al-Najjar underwent multiple operations at a field hospital in Jordan, with a portion of his lung removed and multiple blood transfusions. Adam, who suffered severe burns and had one hand amputated, was fighting for his life. Ali al-Najjar, Alaa’s brother-in-law, described the heart-wrenching task of digging through the rubble to recover the children’s bodies, fearing the moment when his brother would awaken to the devastating news of his children’s deaths. The loss and pain felt by the family and the community in Gaza were immeasurable, highlighting the ongoing suffering in the region.
