The young victims, two of whom remain under the rubble, range in age from seven months to 12 years old.
An Israeli strike has killed nearly the entire family of a Khan Younis doctor while she was at work, Gaza health officials said.
The attack hit the home of Alaa al-Najjar, a paediatrician at the southern cityโs Nasser Hospital, on Friday, setting it ablaze and killing nine of her 10 children, according to the head of the hospitalโs paediatrics department, Ahmad al-Farra.
The dead children, two of whom remain under the rubble, range in age from seven months to 12 years old, said Gazaโs Government Media Office. It named them as Sidar, Luqman, Sadin, Reval, Ruslan, Jubran, Eve, Rakan and Yahya.
Al-Najjarโs husband was critically injured in the attack. He has severe chest and head wounds, including a skull fracture, and is now receiving treatment in Nasser Hospitalโs intensive care unit, al-Farra told Al Jazeera.
The coupleโs only surviving child, 11-year-old Adam, is also severely injured. He is currently โin the moderate ICU department with his motherโ, said al-Farra.
โIt is unbelievable,โ al-Farra said of the attackโs impact. โYou canโt imagine the shock that [al-Najjar] had when she heard about that [attack]. But up until now, she is trying to be near her son and her husband to survive.โ
He called on people around the world to โbe on the right side of humanityโ and speak out against the bombardment. โThese children, they have no voice. Their mother โฆ sheโs [in shock],โ he said. โPlease, I ask everyone to be her voice [in] this world. Please.โ
โNew phase of genocideโ
The UNโs special rapporteur for the Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, slammed the attack on the al-Najjar home as part of a โsadistic patternโ of a โnew phase of genocideโ facing Palestinians in the besieged enclave.
Two doctors go to work to assist others.Nine of their kids are killed by an Israeli missile targeting their home. Only surviving child, in critical conditions.
Targeting families in the still-standing buildings: distinguishable sadistic pattern of the new phase of the genocide. https://t.co/6tlylARKK5
โ Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) May 24, 2025
Hamas said it followed a routine of Israel โdeliberately targeting โฆ medical personnel, civilians and their families in an attempt to break their willโ.
The Israeli military said it had struck suspected fighters operating from a structure next to its forces in an area where civilians had been evacuated. โThe claim regarding harm to uninvolved civilians is under review,โ the military added.
On Monday, Israel issued forced evacuation orders for Khan Younis, Gazaโs second-largest city, warning of an โunprecedented attackโ. There has been heavy, deadly bombardment in the area daily.
The al-Najjar children were among dozens killed in Israelโs attacks on Friday and Saturday.
According to Gazaโs Health Ministry, the bodies of 79 people killed in Israeli attacks were brought to hospitals between Friday and midday Saturday. That count does not include facilities in the north of the enclave that are inaccessible, it said.
The ministry puts the overall death toll in Gaza since October 2023 at 53,901, with 122,593 injured.
