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Robertsky moved page Al-Najjar family massacre to Killing of al-Najjar children Perform requested move, see talk page
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<noinclude>{{Requested move notice|1=Al-Najjar family airstrike|2=Talk:Al-Najjar family massacre#Requested move 9 June 2025}}
</noinclude>{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Al-Najjar family massacre
| location = [[Khan Yunis]], [[Gaza Strip]]
| date = May 23, 2025
| partof = the [[Gaza war]] and [[Gaza genocide]]
| map = {{location map
| Israel gaza
| lat_deg = 31.344444
| lon_deg = 34.303056
| label = Khan Yunis
| label_size = 100
| caption = <!-- blank -->
| border = none
| float = center
}}
| map_caption = Location within the Gaza Strip
| target = [[Palestinians|Palestinian]] family
| type = [[Airstrikes]], [[massacre]], [[war crime]]
| fatalities = 10 (including 9 children)
| injuries = 1 child
| perpetrator = {{military|Israel}}
}}{{Campaignbox Gaza war}}
On May 23, 2025, the [[Israel Defense Forces]] (IDF) bombed a home in the [[Gaza Strip|Gazan]] city of [[Khan Yunis]], belonging to a doctor couple employed at [[Nasser Hospital]]. The [[massacre]]<ref name="lem">{{Cite news |last=Mraffko |first=Clothilde |date=2025-05-26 |title=Palestinian pediatrician in Gaza loses nine of her 10 children when her home is bombed |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2025/05/26/palestinian-pediatrician-in-gaza-loses-nine-of-her-10-children-when-her-home-is-bombed_6741661_4.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250526041728/https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2025/05/26/palestinian-pediatrician-in-gaza-loses-nine-of-her-10-children-when-her-home-is-bombed_6741661_4.html |archive-date=2025-05-26 |access-date=2025-06-01 |work=[[Le Monde]] |language=en}}</ref> resulted in the deaths of 9 of the couple's 10 children. The father of the family, Hamdi al-Najjar, was in critical condition and succumbed to his injuries after several days.<ref name="ham">{{Cite news |date=2025-06-01 |title=Gaza doctor who lost nine children in Israeli airstrike dies from wounds in same attack|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/01/gaza-doctor-who-lost-nine-children-in-israeli-airstrike-dies-from-wounds-in-same-attack|access-date=2025-06-01|work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> A son, 11-year-old Adam, survived the attack and had to undergo multiple surgeries.<ref name="ham" /> The mother, pediatrician [[Alaa Al Najjar|Alaa]], who had just started her shift at the hospital at the time of the bombing, was unharmed. The children ranged in age from 7 months to 12 years.<ref name="lem" />
==Background==
''[[Le Monde]]'' highlights the [[Killing of health workers in the Gaza war|abuses]] that Palestinian doctors undergo at the hands of the Israelis, with many having suffered torture precisely because they were doctors, according to the Israeli NGO [[Physicians for Human Rights–Israel|Physicians for Human Rights]].<ref name=lem /> Four Palestinian doctors have been killed in Israeli custody since the start of the Gaza war, including surgeon [[Adnan al-Bursh]], whose body showed signs of torture, according to the [[United Nations]].<ref name=lem />
[[Attacks on health facilities during the Gaza war|Israeli attacks on hospitals]] and [[Killing of health workers in the Gaza war|health workers]] in the Gaza Strip are one of the elements cited by [[Amnesty International]] in concluding that Israel is committing [[Gaza genocide|genocide in Gaza]].<ref name=lem />
==The strike==
According to a niece of the couple, who accompanied Hamdi after they dropped Alaa off at Nasser Hospital, the family's home was hit by the Israelis twice. After the first time, in which the missile failed to detonate, Hamdi rushed home to get his children out, following which the Israelis launched a second missile, causing the explosion.<ref name=cnn>{{Cite news |work=CNN|date=2025-06-01 |title=Nine out of Gaza doctor’s 10 children killed in Israeli airstrike|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2025/05/24/middleeast/gaza-doctor-children-bodies-hospital-intl|access-date=2025-06-01}}</ref>
Witnesses reported that the children's charred bodies recovered from the rubble had been burned to a crisp; an uncle who rushed to the scene shortly after the strike described seeing a blown-out skull and scattered bits of brain tissue. The children's bodies were in such poor condition that their mother was unable to identify them.<ref name=ham /> Hamdi suffered multiple fractures throughout his body and damage to the brain; he died on June 1. Adam, as of June 1, remains in treatment.<ref name=ham />
The Israeli military claims to have bombed a group of suspects moving near Israeli troops, adding that reports of civilian casualties were "under review."<ref name=lem /> However, no other victims of the strike are known, and the children's uncle says the area was deserted at the time.<ref name=lem /> Marwan al-Hams, director of field hospitals at the Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip, told ''[[Le Monde]]'' that most likely the army knew very well who the house belonged to and who was in it at the time of the bombing. The IDF "targets everyone, but by striking the home of pediatrician Alaa and her husband, Dr. Hamdi, it's as if they wanted to target the health care system itself, the last line of defense protecting the Palestinian people by saving lives," he said.<ref name=lem />
Israeli forces have killed about 1,600 Gaza health workers since the start of the war until the end of May 2025.<ref name=lem />
==Reactions==
The massacre drew international attention and condemnation. The family’s story became emblematic of the suffering endured by Palestinian civilians and healthcare workers during the conflict.<ref name="middleeasteye">{{Cite news |date=2025-05-24 |title=Gaza doctor grieves her nine children killed in Israeli strike |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/gaza-doctor-receives-bodies-her-seven-children-while-duty |access-date=2025-06-02 |work=Middle East Eye}}</ref><ref name="cnn2">{{Cite web |date=2025-05-26 |title=A Gaza doctor went to work. Hours later, her children's bodies arrive |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/25/world/video/gaza-doctor-children-killed-israeli-strike |access-date=2025-06-02 |website=CNN}}</ref>
=== Domestic ===
[[Hamas]] described the mass killing as a "heinous crime" that "clearly expresses the sadistic nature of the occupation, and the level of the deep-rooted spirit of revenge that drives Netanyahu and his gang of murderers and human monsters."
The [[Ministry of Health (Palestine)|Palestinian Ministry of Health]] in the Israeli-occupied West Bank said, "This horrific crime is not an isolated incident, but part of a systematic targeting of medical personnel and institutions, aimed at breaking the will of those standing steadfast in Gaza."<ref name="cnn" />
Munir al-Boursh, Director-General of the [[Gaza Health Ministry|Ministry of Health in Gaza]], stated, "This is the reality our medical staff in Gaza endure. Words fall short in describing the pain. In Gaza, it is not only healthcare workers who are targeted—Israel's aggression goes further, wiping out entire families."<ref name="cnn" />
=== Israel ===
On May 27, ''[[Haaretz]]'' reported that [[Israeli media]] "has been celebrating the doubts that have surfaced about the event", generated by bad faith users.<ref name="fake">{{Cite news |last=Hasson |first=Nir |date=May 27, 2025 |title=Unable to Justify Their Army Killing Children in Gaza, Israelis Retreat Into Deep Denial |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-05-27/ty-article/.premium/unable-to-justify-their-army-killing-children-in-gaza-israelis-retreat-into-deep-denial/00000197-1123-d165-a9ff-19e743ce0000 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250603141355/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-05-27/ty-article/.premium/unable-to-justify-their-army-killing-children-in-gaza-israelis-retreat-into-deep-denial/00000197-1123-d165-a9ff-19e743ce0000 |archive-date=3 June 2025 |access-date=7 June 2025 |work=[[Haaretz]]}}</ref> "Instead of apologizing, they have circulated misleading images and published reports aimed at undermining the veracity of the incident."<ref name="fake" />
=== International ===
*{{Flag|United Nations}}: [[Francesca Albanese]], the [[UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories|UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories]], said it represents a "distinguishable sadistic pattern of the new phase of the genocide."<ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-05-24 |title=Israeli airstrike kills nine of Gaza doctor’s 10 children |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/24/israeli-airstrike-kills-nine-of-gaza-doctors-10-children-reports-say |access-date=2025-06-01 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Brazil}}: [[Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva|President Lula]] condemned the massacre as "shameful and cowardly."<ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-05-25 |title=Israeli attack that killed 9 siblings was 'shameful and cowardly', says Lula |url=https://noticias.uol.com.br/politica/ultimas-noticias/2025/05/25/governo-lula-morte-gaza.htm |access-date=2025-06-01 |work=[[UOL HOST|UOL Notícias]] |language=pt}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Italy}}: Italian foreign minister [[Antonio Tajani]] has offered to welcome Adam and his parents into the country.<ref name="ham" /> Italian authorities offered to evacuate the surviving child, Adam, for medical treatment, citing the lack of adequate care available in Gaza.<ref name="bbc">{{Cite news |date=2025-06-02 |title=Gaza doctor whose nine children were killed in Israeli strike dies |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyvg91qp52o |access-date=2025-06-02 |work=BBC News}}</ref>
== See also ==
*[[Rafah paramedic massacre]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Gaza war}}
{{Massacres against Palestinians}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:al-Najjar}}
[[Category:2025 in the Gaza Strip]]
[[Category:2025 massacres of the Gaza war]]
[[Category:2025 crimes in Palestine]]
[[Category:Children killed in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict]]
[[Category:Civilians killed in the Israel–Hamas war]]
[[Category:Gaza Strip humanitarian crisis]]
[[Category:Israeli war crimes in the Gaza war]]
[[Category:21st-century mass murder in the Gaza Strip]]
[[Category:May 2025 crimes in Asia]]
[[Category:Health professionals killed in the Gaza war]]
[[Category:Healthcare workers killed by Israeli security forces]]
[[Category:Palestinian children]]
[[Category:Residential building bombings in the Gaza Strip]]
[[Category:Family murders]]
[[Category:Khan Yunis in the Israel–Hamas war]]
</noinclude>{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Al-Najjar family massacre
| location = [[Khan Yunis]], [[Gaza Strip]]
| date = May 23, 2025
| partof = the [[Gaza war]] and [[Gaza genocide]]
| map = {{location map
| Israel gaza
| lat_deg = 31.344444
| lon_deg = 34.303056
| label = Khan Yunis
| label_size = 100
| caption = <!-- blank -->
| border = none
| float = center
}}
| map_caption = Location within the Gaza Strip
| target = [[Palestinians|Palestinian]] family
| type = [[Airstrikes]], [[massacre]], [[war crime]]
| fatalities = 10 (including 9 children)
| injuries = 1 child
| perpetrator = {{military|Israel}}
}}{{Campaignbox Gaza war}}
On May 23, 2025, the [[Israel Defense Forces]] (IDF) bombed a home in the [[Gaza Strip|Gazan]] city of [[Khan Yunis]], belonging to a doctor couple employed at [[Nasser Hospital]]. The [[massacre]]<ref name="lem">{{Cite news |last=Mraffko |first=Clothilde |date=2025-05-26 |title=Palestinian pediatrician in Gaza loses nine of her 10 children when her home is bombed |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2025/05/26/palestinian-pediatrician-in-gaza-loses-nine-of-her-10-children-when-her-home-is-bombed_6741661_4.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250526041728/https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2025/05/26/palestinian-pediatrician-in-gaza-loses-nine-of-her-10-children-when-her-home-is-bombed_6741661_4.html |archive-date=2025-05-26 |access-date=2025-06-01 |work=[[Le Monde]] |language=en}}</ref> resulted in the deaths of 9 of the couple's 10 children. The father of the family, Hamdi al-Najjar, was in critical condition and succumbed to his injuries after several days.<ref name="ham">{{Cite news |date=2025-06-01 |title=Gaza doctor who lost nine children in Israeli airstrike dies from wounds in same attack|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/01/gaza-doctor-who-lost-nine-children-in-israeli-airstrike-dies-from-wounds-in-same-attack|access-date=2025-06-01|work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> A son, 11-year-old Adam, survived the attack and had to undergo multiple surgeries.<ref name="ham" /> The mother, pediatrician [[Alaa Al Najjar|Alaa]], who had just started her shift at the hospital at the time of the bombing, was unharmed. The children ranged in age from 7 months to 12 years.<ref name="lem" />
==Background==
''[[Le Monde]]'' highlights the [[Killing of health workers in the Gaza war|abuses]] that Palestinian doctors undergo at the hands of the Israelis, with many having suffered torture precisely because they were doctors, according to the Israeli NGO [[Physicians for Human Rights–Israel|Physicians for Human Rights]].<ref name=lem /> Four Palestinian doctors have been killed in Israeli custody since the start of the Gaza war, including surgeon [[Adnan al-Bursh]], whose body showed signs of torture, according to the [[United Nations]].<ref name=lem />
[[Attacks on health facilities during the Gaza war|Israeli attacks on hospitals]] and [[Killing of health workers in the Gaza war|health workers]] in the Gaza Strip are one of the elements cited by [[Amnesty International]] in concluding that Israel is committing [[Gaza genocide|genocide in Gaza]].<ref name=lem />
==The strike==
According to a niece of the couple, who accompanied Hamdi after they dropped Alaa off at Nasser Hospital, the family's home was hit by the Israelis twice. After the first time, in which the missile failed to detonate, Hamdi rushed home to get his children out, following which the Israelis launched a second missile, causing the explosion.<ref name=cnn>{{Cite news |work=CNN|date=2025-06-01 |title=Nine out of Gaza doctor’s 10 children killed in Israeli airstrike|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2025/05/24/middleeast/gaza-doctor-children-bodies-hospital-intl|access-date=2025-06-01}}</ref>
Witnesses reported that the children's charred bodies recovered from the rubble had been burned to a crisp; an uncle who rushed to the scene shortly after the strike described seeing a blown-out skull and scattered bits of brain tissue. The children's bodies were in such poor condition that their mother was unable to identify them.<ref name=ham /> Hamdi suffered multiple fractures throughout his body and damage to the brain; he died on June 1. Adam, as of June 1, remains in treatment.<ref name=ham />
The Israeli military claims to have bombed a group of suspects moving near Israeli troops, adding that reports of civilian casualties were "under review."<ref name=lem /> However, no other victims of the strike are known, and the children's uncle says the area was deserted at the time.<ref name=lem /> Marwan al-Hams, director of field hospitals at the Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip, told ''[[Le Monde]]'' that most likely the army knew very well who the house belonged to and who was in it at the time of the bombing. The IDF "targets everyone, but by striking the home of pediatrician Alaa and her husband, Dr. Hamdi, it's as if they wanted to target the health care system itself, the last line of defense protecting the Palestinian people by saving lives," he said.<ref name=lem />
Israeli forces have killed about 1,600 Gaza health workers since the start of the war until the end of May 2025.<ref name=lem />
==Reactions==
The massacre drew international attention and condemnation. The family’s story became emblematic of the suffering endured by Palestinian civilians and healthcare workers during the conflict.<ref name="middleeasteye">{{Cite news |date=2025-05-24 |title=Gaza doctor grieves her nine children killed in Israeli strike |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/gaza-doctor-receives-bodies-her-seven-children-while-duty |access-date=2025-06-02 |work=Middle East Eye}}</ref><ref name="cnn2">{{Cite web |date=2025-05-26 |title=A Gaza doctor went to work. Hours later, her children's bodies arrive |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/25/world/video/gaza-doctor-children-killed-israeli-strike |access-date=2025-06-02 |website=CNN}}</ref>
=== Domestic ===
[[Hamas]] described the mass killing as a "heinous crime" that "clearly expresses the sadistic nature of the occupation, and the level of the deep-rooted spirit of revenge that drives Netanyahu and his gang of murderers and human monsters."
The [[Ministry of Health (Palestine)|Palestinian Ministry of Health]] in the Israeli-occupied West Bank said, "This horrific crime is not an isolated incident, but part of a systematic targeting of medical personnel and institutions, aimed at breaking the will of those standing steadfast in Gaza."<ref name="cnn" />
Munir al-Boursh, Director-General of the [[Gaza Health Ministry|Ministry of Health in Gaza]], stated, "This is the reality our medical staff in Gaza endure. Words fall short in describing the pain. In Gaza, it is not only healthcare workers who are targeted—Israel's aggression goes further, wiping out entire families."<ref name="cnn" />
=== Israel ===
On May 27, ''[[Haaretz]]'' reported that [[Israeli media]] "has been celebrating the doubts that have surfaced about the event", generated by bad faith users.<ref name="fake">{{Cite news |last=Hasson |first=Nir |date=May 27, 2025 |title=Unable to Justify Their Army Killing Children in Gaza, Israelis Retreat Into Deep Denial |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-05-27/ty-article/.premium/unable-to-justify-their-army-killing-children-in-gaza-israelis-retreat-into-deep-denial/00000197-1123-d165-a9ff-19e743ce0000 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250603141355/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-05-27/ty-article/.premium/unable-to-justify-their-army-killing-children-in-gaza-israelis-retreat-into-deep-denial/00000197-1123-d165-a9ff-19e743ce0000 |archive-date=3 June 2025 |access-date=7 June 2025 |work=[[Haaretz]]}}</ref> "Instead of apologizing, they have circulated misleading images and published reports aimed at undermining the veracity of the incident."<ref name="fake" />
=== International ===
*{{Flag|United Nations}}: [[Francesca Albanese]], the [[UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories|UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories]], said it represents a "distinguishable sadistic pattern of the new phase of the genocide."<ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-05-24 |title=Israeli airstrike kills nine of Gaza doctor’s 10 children |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/24/israeli-airstrike-kills-nine-of-gaza-doctors-10-children-reports-say |access-date=2025-06-01 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Brazil}}: [[Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva|President Lula]] condemned the massacre as "shameful and cowardly."<ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-05-25 |title=Israeli attack that killed 9 siblings was 'shameful and cowardly', says Lula |url=https://noticias.uol.com.br/politica/ultimas-noticias/2025/05/25/governo-lula-morte-gaza.htm |access-date=2025-06-01 |work=[[UOL HOST|UOL Notícias]] |language=pt}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Italy}}: Italian foreign minister [[Antonio Tajani]] has offered to welcome Adam and his parents into the country.<ref name="ham" /> Italian authorities offered to evacuate the surviving child, Adam, for medical treatment, citing the lack of adequate care available in Gaza.<ref name="bbc">{{Cite news |date=2025-06-02 |title=Gaza doctor whose nine children were killed in Israeli strike dies |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyvg91qp52o |access-date=2025-06-02 |work=BBC News}}</ref>
== See also ==
*[[Rafah paramedic massacre]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Gaza war}}
{{Massacres against Palestinians}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:al-Najjar}}
[[Category:2025 in the Gaza Strip]]
[[Category:2025 massacres of the Gaza war]]
[[Category:2025 crimes in Palestine]]
[[Category:Children killed in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict]]
[[Category:Civilians killed in the Israel–Hamas war]]
[[Category:Gaza Strip humanitarian crisis]]
[[Category:Israeli war crimes in the Gaza war]]
[[Category:21st-century mass murder in the Gaza Strip]]
[[Category:May 2025 crimes in Asia]]
[[Category:Health professionals killed in the Gaza war]]
[[Category:Healthcare workers killed by Israeli security forces]]
[[Category:Palestinian children]]
[[Category:Residential building bombings in the Gaza Strip]]
[[Category:Family murders]]
[[Category:Khan Yunis in the Israel–Hamas war]]
