The head of a medical charity has addressed the tragic deaths of a doctor’s nine children due to an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, highlighting the “nearly impossible” nature of delivering care in the region.
Warning: This article includes graphic descriptions of child fatalities
Chris Lockyear, the secretary general of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders, shared with Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that the bodies of nine of pediatrician Alaa al Najjar’s 10 children were brought to the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis while she was on duty.
During the attack in southern Gaza on Friday, her husband, Hamdi al Najjar, was critically injured, and her sole surviving son, Adam, aged 11, is in a serious condition.
The deceased siblings were aged between seven months and 12 years.
Mr. Lockyear, who has corresponded with some of the MSF team at the hospital, stated, “Our team on the ground reported that not only were the bodies of her children delivered to her while she was on duty, but they were also burned, described as charcoaled.”
He further explained, “This hospital, one of the few partially operational ones left in Gaza, has faced three airstrikes in the last two months—one of which resulted in the deaths of two people in the surgical ward—illustrating the complexity, if not the impossibility, of providing humanitarian aid in Gaza at this time.”
Adam, 11, was left severely injured
Throughout the conflict, hospitals in Gaza have been recurrent targets. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) asserts that Hamas operatives have used these facilities as cover or concealed themselves in tunnels beneath them.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), four major hospitals have had to halt medical services in recent weeks due to their proximity to conflict zones. There were 28 attacks on healthcare facilities in Gaza during this time, contributing to a total of 697 attacks since October 2023.
Hamdi al Najjar, Dr Najjar’s husband, also a doctor, being transported to the hospital. Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence
Nearly all of the 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip are either damaged or destroyed, as reported by the WHO, leaving only 19 operational.
In total, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry reported that 79 bodies from Israeli strikes were brought to hospitals within a 24-hour span—a figure that excludes the severely affected northern regions, where hospitals are now inaccessible.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Gazan doctor’s children killed
Mr. Lockyear informed Sky News that “no public hospitals are operational in the north anymore,” stating, “We are witnessing the weaponization of humanitarian aid.”
“Basic necessities, including water and electricity, are being restricted, exacerbating this unavoidable humanitarian disaster that is ongoing in Gaza.”
Israel asserts that approximately 300 aid trucks have been permitted entry since an 11-week blockade was lifted on Monday, yet UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described it as a “teaspoon” of the aid needed, emphasizing that only about a third of the trucks have reached warehouses in Gaza due to security issues.
A relative recounts the struggle to save the children
Ali al Najjar, the uncle of the nine deceased children, played a part in the effort to rescue them.
“We began to pull them out, one by one,” he recounted to Sky News. “We managed to extract the third child, but unfortunately, we could not identify them.
“They were charred, with no clothes, no faces—just remains.”
Explore more from Sky News:
UN chief condemns ‘teaspoon of aid’ sent to Gaza
‘Khan Younis resembles Stalingrad’: British doctor describes the horrors
Two British doctors at Nasser Hospital characterized the attack as “horrific” and “unimaginable” for Dr. Najjar.
The IDF responded to Sky News: “An IDF aircraft targeted several individuals identified as operating from a structure near IDF troops in Khan Younis.
“The Khan Younis area is a dangerous combat zone. Prior to commencing operations, the IDF evacuated civilians from the region for their safety.”
“The claim regarding harm to uninvolved civilians is under examination.”
Listen to The World With Richard Engel And Yalda Hakim on your podcast app
The conflict in Gaza escalated when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, leading to approximately 1,200 fatalities, mainly among civilians, and the kidnapping of 251 others.
Israel’s military response has devastated large portions of Gaza, resulting in more than 53,000 Palestinian deaths, predominantly women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its reporting.