GAZA — A devastating Israeli airstrike on Friday killed nine of the ten children of a pediatrician in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, as the humanitarian crisis in the territory deepens and civilian casualties continue to rise.

According to Nasser Hospital, where the doctor works, the strike hit the home of Dr. Alaa al-Najjar, killing nine of her children and severely injuring her husband and surviving 11-year-old son.

British surgeon Graeme Groom, currently working at the hospital, said he operated on the injured child.

Footage verified by the BBC and shared by Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry showed the charred bodies of children being retrieved from rubble near a petrol station.

Civil Defense teams confirmed eight bodies had been recovered initially, later revised to nine by hospital officials.

Dr. Muneer Alboursh, director of the health ministry, said the strike occurred minutes after Dr. al-Najjar’s husband returned home after driving her to work. None of the family members were reported to have political or military affiliations.

“This is unimaginable,” said Groom in a video posted by a fellow British doctor, Victoria Rose. Another doctor, Youssef Abu al-Rish, said Dr. al-Najjar was waiting outside the operating room when he arrived and tried to comfort her.

In a statement posted on Telegram, Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal said several injured people were pulled from the rubble.

Family members and local residents expressed anguish, calling on the international community, Hamas, and all Palestinian factions to end the suffering.

The Israeli military has not commented specifically on the strike but said on Saturday that it had hit more than 100 targets across Gaza in the previous 24 hours.

Gaza’s health ministry reported at least 74 people killed in that period alone.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Friday that civilians in Gaza were enduring what could be “the cruellest phase” of the war.

He condemned Israel’s restrictions on humanitarian aid imposed since early March.

Despite a partial easing of the blockade this week, the UN said the amount of aid entering Gaza remains “drastically insufficient,” with just 83 trucks arriving Friday, far below the 500–600 trucks per day needed.

The lack of food and basic supplies has sparked desperate scenes across Gaza, with looting of aid convoys and crowds forming outside bakeries as people struggle to find bread.

A UN-backed assessment earlier this month said Gaza is at “critical risk” of famine, while fuel shortages have crippled desalination plants, compounding the region’s chronic water crisis.

Israel has defended the blockade as a measure to pressure Hamas to release hostages taken during its cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and resulted in the capture of 251 hostages.

Since the conflict began, Gaza’s health ministry says at least 53,901 people have been killed, including more than 16,500 children. — BBC