9 children of Gaza doctor couple killed in Israeli strike
- Last updated: May 24, 2025 | 19:43
The bodies of 79 people killed by Israeli strikes have been brought to hospitals in the past 24 hours, Gaza 's health ministry said on Saturday — a toll that doesn't include hospitals in the battered north that it said are now inaccessible.
The dead over the past day in Israel's renewed military offensive included nine of a doctor's 10 children, horrified colleagues and the health ministry said.
Alaa Najjar, a pediatrician at Nasser Hospital, was on duty at the time and ran home to find her family's house on fire, Ahmad Al Farra, head of the hospital's pediatric department, told The Associated Press.
Najjar's husband was severely wounded and their only surviving child, an 11-year-old son, was in critical condition after Friday's strike in the southern city of Khan Younis, Farra said.
The dead children ranged in age from seven months to 12 years old. Khalil Al Dokran, a spokesperson for Gaza’s Health Ministry, told the AP that two of the children remained under the rubble.
Israel's military in a statement said it struck suspects operating from a structure next to its forces, and described the area of Khan Younis as a "dangerous war zone.” It said it had evacuated civilians from the area, and "the claim regarding harm to uninvolved civilians is under review.”
Earlier on Saturday, a statement said Israel's air force struck over 100 targets throughout Gaza over the past day.
The health ministry said the new deaths brought the war's toll to 53,901 since the Oct. 7, 2023. The ministry said 3,747 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel resumed the war on March 18 in an effort to pressure Hamas to accept different ceasefire terms. Its count doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants.
Associated Press