ANKARA

The Palestinian group Hamas has condemned Israel for committing a "horrific massacre" on Saturday morning, targeting the home of a physician who works at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, and killing nine of her 10 children while critically injuring her husband.

The attack exposed Israel's dark side and the "deep-rooted vengeful spirit driving (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and his gang of murderers," Hamas said in a statement on Saturday. The group described Netanyahu as practicing "mass killing in cold blood."

"This is one of the most atrocious crimes in modern history against medical teams," Hamas said, noting Israel's systematic targeting of health care workers since the war began in October 2023.

According to medical sources, Dr. Alaa Najjar, a physician at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, has lost nine of her 10 children, and her husband, also a doctor, is in critical condition as a result of an Israeli airstrike on their home early Saturday.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 53,900 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.