Heartbreaking news report from Gaza - Dr receives bodies of her children

[Applenation]

Many of you will already have read about this. Paediatric specialist Dr Alaa al-Najjar was on duty when the bodies of nine of her 10 children were received by her in the hospital, after a strike in Khan Younis hit her home.

This report just stopped me in my tracks. I don't know what to say beyond this. I cannot stop thinking about this poor woman tonight.

er children killed by a strike in Khan Younis. Guardian link

I feel very pessimistic in hoping everyone affected by this conflict can achieve peace. Especially the young.

It is odd - still no photos at all of the mum. Maybe she wants to remain private. I sincerely hope they both find some peace and healing now, although I can't really imagine how anyone could recover from such loss.

I assume all of the medical patients and their families can claim asylum once they are in Italy?

Wasn't Adam operated on by a British doctor after the bombing? Who was working in the hospital, along with other international medics.
Also I thought both parents worked at the hospital. The dad also worked at a clinic and this wouldn't be unusual.
Also I don't understand why it is odd there is "still no photos of the mum". I've seen photos of her. The article linked above has a photo?

No that is a cousin who has been photographed a few times. She must want her privacy.

Yes a British doctor operated on him.

I don't think his description of Dr. Alaa in the morgue suggests he is involved in propaganda. I imagine the woman was in complete shock, as I'm sure many others were. Do you mean that her eerie calmness was some sort of propaganda? I don't know about you, but I myself has been shocked at how I've responded to events on my life. I thought we had moved on from expecting women to perform in particular ways.
Or is it his language you object to? If so, how? Many cultures have particular ways of speaking. In many Catholic majority countries language is peppered with religious references. Or we perceive a way of speaking as being unusually ornate or flowery.

Thank you. I completely understand her reticence.

I thought his whole description was made up - I don't think Farra examined the bodies of the paramedics and I don't think he was at the morgue or witnessed the scene he described either;

“Alaa went to the morgue, held her children in her arms, recited the Qur’an over them and prayed for them,” said Dr Ahmed al-Farra, 53, the director of the children’s building at the Nasser medical complex. “Other female doctors around her collapsed from grief and rage, but Dr Alaa remained composed. God sent peace upon her heart...

I thought we had moved on from expecting women to perform in particular ways

Well, yes, but I think you are the one expecting too much;

... I want the right not to be strong,” Najjar told La Repubblica newspaper before her evacuation.
“I am a woman whose children were killed, nearly all of them, when all I ever wanted was to protect them. Not just their bodies – I wanted to protect their feelings too. If God allowed this tragedy, there must be a reason. There has to be. But I don’t know what it is.”

YourOnMute
Also I thought both parents worked at the hospital

I think that has been misreported - the brother in Ireland talked about his brother-in-law working from the clinic which also had a pharmacy and a small laboratory for tests.

It was a relief to read this- I had been looking out for confirmation of that they had been allowed to evacuate. A really dignified woman. I hope she and her son find some peace after their dreadful experience. I would like to hear more about her life and experiences - if she is ever ready to speak further about it.

Oh i hadn’t realised that there were relations based in Europe.

More information here. https://www.thejournal.ie/brother-woman-nine-kids-gaza-6717437-May2025/

He did work at that clinic and the hospital. That's not unusual globally.
Also thank you for responding to me...I still don't see anything wrong in that doctor's description. I don't know enough about the other incident to comment on that. I can accept that she could be numb and pray and that others could be desolate.

I heard some of his interview; it was heartbreaking

What role did he have at the hospital? Dr Alaa al-Najjar is a paediatrician. It sounded to me as though he ran the clinic, pharmacy and small lab in the apartment building where they lived (brother-in-law's interview Irish radio).

brother-in-law's interview Irish radio - his brother-in-law - Alaa's brother.

He did and also worked at the hospital. Due to shortage of medics it is now not unusual for healthcare staff to work shifts at hospitals - the ones that are still operating. However I understand he did work there, not sure what his particular role being of any relevance as the man is now dead.
What interview did you listen to?

What interview did you listen to?

The interview posted earlier in the thread - I listened to the first 20 minutes or so;
https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/22516531/

That's really dad.

I thought it may come to this.

Very perceptive @CaramelDonutFilling .
And now there's no internet in Gaza. And yesterday the UN passed a resolution condemning Israel's acts in Gaza, but very little coverage of this.

Was the Internet cut off? I heard aid has been paused it feels so hopeless. Heads are now turned to Israel/ Iran you can call me a conspiracy theorist but would be nuts not to question Netanyahu's suspicious timing on attacking Iran. He has now put his own people at severe risk and Israeli children have already been killed in Irans counter attack and for what?

For not very much at all @ComeAsYouAreAsAFriend

Just a few nuclear bombs...

I prefer to wait and see if it's more effective than the US/ Iran talk which were scheduled for today before deciding if it's worth the deaths of innocent civilians

As far as I know yes, internet was cut off around the time of the attack on Iran. I think people in Gaza who have esims have limited ability to post on social media.
UNICEF stated that it's staff sent a messages every morning saying how they were and it's been silence.

Plenty of innocent people would get killed if Iran dropped nuclear bombs @ComeAsYouAreAsAFriend