A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
An Israeli airstrike this morning killed at least 30 Palestinians in Gaza who were sheltering in a school. That's according to hospital and morgue officials there. At least another 30 Palestinians were killed in attacks overnight. Gaza's health ministry says Israeli attacks have killed tens of thousands of people, including more than 16,000 children, in the war. One attack this weekend killed nine children in one family. NPR's Aya Batrawy has more on that attack. And a warning - her report has graphic descriptions of war.
AYA BATRAWY, BYLINE: An emergency vehicle rushes to a house in Gaza city of Khan Younis.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY: On this video, distributed by Gaza's emergency services, a first responder is heard saying it looks like there's a fire. They arrive at the home of Dr. Hamdi al-Najjar, who just made lunch for his 10 children, the oldest only 12 years old, the youngest, a baby, six months old.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY: The rescue workers frantically call out for survivors. The children's mother, Dr. Alaa al-Najjar, wasn't at home. She was at work at Nasser Hospital, where she's a pediatrician in the emergency ward. But on this day, she was gasping at the unrecognizable charred bodies of nine of her 10 children in the hospital's morgue. Video's shared by rescue crews at the scene of the airstrike also show the charred human remains of children in the debris. Reached by phone in Gaza, her brother-in-law and the kids' uncle, Ali al-Najjar, says the mother is distraught and unable to speak.
ALI AL-NAJJAR: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY: "She couldn't even hug her nine children's bodies in a final farewell." He says all she had were charred body parts. The Israeli military told NPR it struck, quote, "a number of suspects operating in the area of Khan Younis." They described it as a dangerous war zone and that civilians were told to leave. The military said, quote, "the claim regarding harm to uninvolved civilians is under review." The brother-in-law, Ali al-Najjar, demands Israel provide proof of its claims.
AL-NAJJAR: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY: He says there were no militants in this open area with few places to hide. His sister-in-law's sole surviving child, Adam, and her husband remain in critical condition.
Aya Batrawy, NPR News, Dubai. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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