Gaza doctor dies days after losing nine children in Israeli airstrike

Dubai: Dr. Hamdi Al Najjar, a Palestinian physician who lost nine of his ten children in an Israeli airstrike on May 23, has died from wounds sustained in the same attack, local health officials confirmed Sunday.

His death comes eight days after the strike destroyed his family home in Khan Younis, leaving his 11-year-old son, Adam, as the sole surviving child.

Dr. Najjar, 40, was a respected medical professional at Nasser Hospital. He had just returned home after escorting his wife, Dr. Alaa Al Najjar, a pediatrician, to work when the Israeli strike leveled their home in the Qizan Al Najjar neighbourhood.

The couple had founded a private medical compound in the city and were widely known for their service to the community, often treating patients who could not afford to pay.

The bombing killed nine of their children — Yahya, Rakan, Ruslan, Jubran, Eve, Revan, Sayden, Luqman, and Sidra — whose ages ranged from 13 years to six months.

The devastation was captured in footage released by Gaza’s Civil Defence, showing rescuers digging through rubble as flames consumed what was left of the family’s home. Some of the children’s bodies were so badly burned that their mother could not identify them.

Dr. Najjar sustained severe injuries to his brain, lungs, kidneys, and limbs. He was placed on life support but succumbed to his wounds on Saturday, according to doctors at Nasser Hospital. His son Adam, who remains hospitalized, has undergone multiple surgeries and is awaiting possible evacuation for treatment abroad.

Since the start of the war in Gaza following Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel, Israeli forces have launched a sustained military campaign in the Strip. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 54,418 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 1,580 medical workers.

Huda Ata is an independent writer based in the UAE.