Khan Younis: In the recent brutal Israeli strike on Gaza, nine of a pediatrician’s ten children embraced martyrdom.

Dr. Alaa Najjar, who works at Nasser Hospital, rushed home after the strike in Khan Younis to find her house in flames. Her husband was critically injured, and their only surviving child, an 11-year-old boy, was in critical condition, according to Dr. Ahmad al-Farra, head of the hospital’s pediatric department.

The deceased children ranged in age from 7 months to 12 years. Two bodies remain trapped under rubble, said Health Ministry spokesperson Khalil Al-Dokran.

Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that 79 bodies had been brought to hospitals over the past 24 hours following Israeli airstrikes. The tally does not include casualties from the northern region, where hospitals are reportedly unreachable due to ongoing conflict.

Israel’s military stated it had targeted individuals operating near its troops in what it called a “dangerous war zone” in Khan Younis. It said civilians had been evacuated and that reports of civilian casualties were being investigated. The Israeli air force said it had struck over 100 targets in Gaza within the last day.

The Health Ministry reported that the total number of deaths in Gaza has reached 53,901 since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which initiated the ongoing conflict. Since the resumption of Israeli operations on March 18, 3,747 people have been killed. The figures do not distinguish between civilians and fighters.

Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza’s more than 2 million residents since early March. Only recently, aid trucks have been allowed in, with 388 entering this week, according to COGAT, the Israeli defense agency managing aid operations. Before the blockade, around 600 trucks a day had been entering under a ceasefire.

Warnings of famine and images of Palestinians scrambling for food have pushed Israel’s allies to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to ease restrictions. Israel has proposed a new aid system managed by a U.S.-backed group, but the U.N. and humanitarian organizations have rejected it, arguing that it undermines humanitarian principles and allows food to be weaponized.

Hospitals in Gaza continue to face attacks. At the European Hospital in the south, 11 security staff have been trapped amid heavy fire since Tuesday, the Health Ministry said. Director of nursing Dr. Saleh Hams stated that patients had to be evacuated after a May 13 strike, but security personnel stayed behind to prevent looting. The hospital is the only one in Gaza providing neurosurgery, cardiac, and cancer treatment.

Israel has vowed to continue its campaign until all 58 remaining Israeli hostages are released and Hamas is disarmed. Fewer than half of the hostages taken during the October 7 attack — which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 kidnapped — are believed to be alive.

Hamas has demanded a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a permanent ceasefire, and the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the hostages. Netanyahu has rejected these terms, insisting on continued control over Gaza and promoting the “voluntary emigration” of much of the Palestinian population.

“The Israeli government and its leader have a clear choice: deal or war, saving lives or abandonment,” said Liran Berman, brother of hostages Gali and Ziv Berman, during a weekly rally in Tel Aviv where families again called for a resolution to bring the hostages home.