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- The paediatrician, with no means of transport, ran from the Nasser Hospital to the family house in the city of Khan Yunis, a relative told AFP, only to be met with every parent鈥檚 worst nightmare
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Alaa Al-Najjar was tending to wounded children at a hospital in the southern Gaza Strip when the news came through: the home where her own 10 children were staying had been bombed in an Israeli air strike.
The paediatrician, with no means of transport, ran from the Nasser Hospital to the family house in the city of Khan Yunis, a relative told AFP, only to be met with every parent鈥檚 worst nightmare.
鈥淲hen she saw the charred bodies, she started screaming and crying,鈥� said Ali Al-Najjar, the brother of Alaa鈥檚 husband.
Nine of her children were killed, their bodies burned beyond recognition, according to relatives.
The tenth, 10-year-old Adam, survived the strike but remains in critical condition, as does his father, Hamdi Al-Najjar, also a doctor, who was also at home when the strike hit.
Both are in intensive care at Nasser Hospital.
When the body of her daughter Nibal was pulled from the rubble, Alaa screamed her name, her brother-in-law recounted.
The following day, under a tent set up near the destroyed home, the well-respected paediatric specialist sat in stunned silence, still in shock.
Around her, women wept as the sounds of explosions echoed across the Palestinian territory, battered by more than a year and a half of war.
The air strike on Friday afternoon was carried out without warning, relatives said.
Asked about the incident, the Israeli military said it had 鈥渟truck a number of suspects who were identified operating from a structure鈥� near its troops, adding that claims of civilian harm were under review.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 recognize the children in the shrouds,鈥� Alaa鈥檚 sister, Sahar Al-Najjar, said through tears. 鈥淭heir features were gone.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge loss. Alaa is broken,鈥� said Mohammed, another close family member.
According to medical sources, Hamdi Al-Najjar underwent several operations at the Jordanian field hospital.
Doctors had to remove a large portion of his right lung and gave him 17 blood transfusions.
Adam had one hand amputated and suffers from severe burns across his body.
鈥淚 found my brother鈥檚 house like a broken biscuit, reduced to ruins, and my loved ones were underneath,鈥� Ali Al-Najjar said, recalling how he dug through the rubble with his bare hands alongside paramedics to recover the children鈥檚 bodies.
Now, he dreads the moment his brother regains consciousness.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how to tell him. Should I tell him his children are dead? I buried them in two graves.鈥�
鈥淭here is no safe place in Gaza,鈥� he added with a weary sigh. 鈥淒eath is sometimes kinder than this torture.鈥�