Palestinian doctor who lost nine children in Israeli strike arrives in Italy with wounded son

ROME / ISTANBUL

A Palestinian doctor who lost her husband and nine of her 10 children in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza has arrived in Italy with her only surviving son, the Italian Foreign Ministry confirmed Wednesday.

Dr. Alaa al-Najjar and her son Adam were among 70 Palestinians flown to Italy aboard three Italian Air Force planes. The group included 17 wounded individuals requiring urgent medical care and 53 accompanying relatives.

Adam al-Najjar, who suffered severe burns and had his hand amputated in the May 24 airstrike on their home in Khan Younis, was greeted by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani at Milan Linate Airport. Tajani gave the boy a soccer ball and said Adam would be treated at Niguarda Hospital in Milan.

The boy's father, Dr. Hamdi al-Najjar, was also injured in the bombing and later died from his wounds. Dr. Alaa al-Najjar had been at work at the time of the attack that wiped out nearly her entire family.

“I am heartbroken. I am leaving behind everything that was important to me. My husband, my children, the hospital where I worked, my job, my patients,” she told Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper ahead of her departure.

The flights, organized in coordination with Italian diplomatic authorities, departed from Israel’s Eilat Airport and landed at airports in Milan, Verona, and Pratica di Mare.