The uncle of nine girls and boys from one family who were killed in an Israeli air strike last week has called on Ireland to end Israeli “impunity” and play its role in bringing “accountability” to those responsible for death and destruction in Gaza.
Dr Ali Alnajjar, a Palestinian doctor who works at Sligo University Hospital, said he hoped to see the Dáil pass the Occupied Territories Bill without delay and that he believed the legislation could prompt a domino effect in other countries.
“It worked with South Africa; maybe if we did the same with Israel and isolated Israel economically and politically,” Dr Alnajjar told RTÉ’s Liveline programme.
Last Friday, Dr Alaa Alnajjar, a paediatrician living and working in Khan Younis, lost nine of her 10 children in an Israeli air strike on the city. A few hours after the strike, the charred bodies of seven of the children were brought to the hospital where she worked, while two other bodies remain buried under the rubble. Just one of her children, 11-year-old Adan, and her husband, Hamdi, survived the attack. Both father and son were severely wounded.
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The names of the children who died in the air strike were Yahya, Rakan, Eve, Jubran, Ruslan, Revan, Sayden, Luqman and Sidra. Sidra’s twin Sidar died aged three months due to an infection and lack of medication, Dr Alnajjar said on Wednesday.
“The whole point of sharing my voice is I hope the tragedy Alaa had is going to be the last tragedy. If what happened, happened for a reason, and puts more pressure to end this war of injustice and end this nightmare, I will be satisfied.
“I’m not seeking revenge from anyone, I just want this madness to end. I wish no one else to go through what we are going through.”
Dr Alnajjar, who is currently visiting family in Saudi Arabia, recalled how he spoke with his sister by phone three weeks before the air strike.
She told him life in Gaza had become “doomsday” and that when neighbours great each other, they say “farewell”. She said, “We don’t know when we’ll meet again. Anyone is expecting his moment at any time.” During this conversation, his sister said her children remained “resilient”.
Last Friday, he learned about the deaths of his nieces and nephews through a mix of news reports, social media posts and sporadic messages in family WhatsApp groups, he said.
Asked what Ireland can do in response to the ongoing war in Gaza, Dr Alnajjar said the international community should no longer “tolerate” the Israeli government’s calls “for the erasure of Gaza openly”.
“They are very honest and they don’t feel shame about publicly verbalising it. We need accountability; they feel they have impunity to do whatever they want.”
Dr Alnajjar said his sister had three requests – that people pray for her surviving son and husband; that the bodies of her two children be retrieved from the rubble; and that the destruction of her family become a turning point that “will hopefully end this mad war”.
Nearly 54,000 Palestinians, including more than 16,500 children, have been killed across the territory since the war began, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Isam Hammad, a former manager of a medical equipment company in Gaza who was reunited with his family in Ireland last year, recalled spending time in the Alnajjar household before the war began.
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“I met Hamdi in the house where they were bombed; this family used to have a medical clinic. It’s a terrible story but this is going on every day. So many families have been wiped from the face of this earth. Even if she lost one child or two, it’s the same, it’s just killing.”
Mr Hammad, who is still awaiting a residency permit for his family after more than a year in Ireland, agrees that sanctions should be taken against Israel without delay.
“When Russia invaded Ukraine sanctions were put in action in no time. But now, we’re still thinking and talking about whether to impose sanctions or not. There’s no point in talking about human rights any more, countries are not responding. Palestinian lives have no value.”
