Dr. Alaa al-Najjar, a 38-year-old pediatrician at the Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza, suffered an unspeakable loss on Friday. His life was changed forever in an unexpected flash. So she poured herself into her work, saving lives every day. Back home, however, a bombing killed her entire immediate family—including nine of her ten kids. This heart-wrenching incident is a reminder of the grave perils that healthcare workers and civilian families continue to find themselves exposed to in this horrific war.
On that tragic Friday, Dr. al-Najjar had simply stepped outside her house to provide care to patients in the emergency department. Dr. Hamdi Al-Najjar had entrusted the lives of his two children in her hands. Our oldest is 12 years old, our youngest is just three. Shortly after she had left for work, an airstrike hit their home. That day’s attack killed nine of her children, including Yahya, Rakan, Raslan, Gebran, Eve, Rival, Sayden, Luqman and Sidra.
Dr. al-Najjar continued to work throughout the day despite her immense loss, refusing to be distracted from her mission. She was trying to focus on her patients’ immediate needs, while monitoring her only surviving child’s health and her husband. Her eleven-year-old Adam was seriously injured in the attack and is currently undergoing treatment for severe injuries. Dr. Hamdi Al-Najjar, who was critically injured in the same airstrike, is still in intensive care.
On Saturday morning, the hospital accepted the bodies of six of Dr. al-Najjar’s children. Unfortunately, they were pretty deeply burned. Tragically, two of her children—a seven-month-old and a two-year-old—had been left buried beneath the rubble of their home.
“This is the reality our medical staff in Gaza endure,” said Munir al-Barsh. “Words fall short in describing the pain. In Gaza, healthcare workers aren’t the only targets—Israel’s aggression kills entire families.
Dr. al-Najjar has served as a committed humanitarian physician even as violence in Gaza has sharply increased. Youssef Abu al-Reesh acknowledged her commitment: “She fulfills her duty and her calling toward all those sick children who have no place but Nasser Hospital.”
The Israeli military stated that they “struck a number of suspects who were identified operating from a structure adjacent to IDF troops in the area of Khan Yunis.” Yet this does nothing to address the pain caused to families such as Dr. al-Najjar’s.
