Hamas condemns Israeli attack which killed nine children in Khan Younis

Hamas has called an Israeli attack on the home of Dr Alaa al-Najjar, a doctor at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, “a horrific massacre”.

Najjar, a paediatric specialist at al-Tahrir hospital within the Nasser Medical Complex, received the charred bodies of nine of her children while on duty after an Israeli strike hit her home.

“This heinous crime 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,” Hamas said in a statement.

The group said that Israel has been “deliberately targeting the medical personnel, civilians and their families in an attempt to break their will” since the start of the war.

The children - the eldest aged 12 and the youngest just six months - were severely burned in the bombing.

Shortly before the strike, Najjar had left for work with her husband, Hamdi al-Najjar, who then returned home.

Not long after, Israeli bombardment struck their house in the Qizan al-Najjar area in southern Khan Younis, killing nine of their 10 children and wounding the 10th.

Najjar’s husband, who sustained serious injuries, remains in intensive care.