Gaza report on 9 children of doctors killed in Israeli strike highlights challenges of verifying truth in social media war

This story was updated Tuesday, 27 May, following the release of statements by the IDF regarding an investigation into the incident.

The Hamas-run Gaza Civil Defense Agency claimed on Saturday that an Israeli strike in the city of Khan Younis killed nine children belonging to a married couple of doctors.

According to reports in Palestinian media, which were quickly picked up by Western media outlets, nine of the couple’s 10 children were killed in the airstrike which landed next to their home, causing a fire that burned much of the building. 

Associated Press reported that Alaa Najjar, a pediatrician at Nasser Hospital, was on duty at the time of the strike, while her husband, who had driven her to work, was just returning home. 

The couple’s 11-year-old son was reported injured in the strike, along with the husband, Dr. Hamdi al-Najjar. Reports cited that al-Najjar's brother, Ismail al-Najjar, arrived at the scene before emergency services personnel. 

“They were innocent children,” Ismail said regarding the children killed in the explosion and fire. He also said that his brother Hamdi “has no business with (Palestinian) factions.” 

Israeli Defense Forces reported launching the strike in Khan Younis and said it was investigating the reports of the deaths. The IDF said it struck several suspects seen near a building where Israeli troops were operating and reiterated that steps were taken to minimize harm to civilians, noting that Hamas regularly uses civilians as human shields.

The military also said it had issued evacuation orders for Khan Younis at the beginning of the week. 

On Monday, IDF Arabic spokesman, Col. Avichai Adraee, issued an evacuation order for most of Khan Younis. 

“The IDF will launch an unprecedented attack to destroy the capabilities of terrorist organizations in this area,” Adraee said in the warning. “You must evacuate immediately west to the Mawasi area. From this moment, Khan Yunis Governorate will be considered a dangerous combat zone. Terrorist organizations have brought you disaster. For your safety, evacuate immediately.” 

Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the Hamas-run civil defense agency, said emergency workers had retrieved “the bodies of nine child martyrs, some of them charred, from the home of Dr Hamdi al-Najjar and his wife, Dr Alaa al-Najjar, all of whom were their children.” 

As news of the story broke in Palestinian media, hundreds of reports of the incident flooded social media, many using false images, said to depict the family. 

Some Israeli social media influencers were quick to notice that some of the pictures, said to be of the children, had actually been posted in March, amid claims of a similar tragedy. Some pro-Palestinian influencers sharing the news of the story even used images which were clearly generated with artificial intelligence programs, drawing further criticism and claims that the whole story had been fabricated. 

The social media users provided evidence from previous claims of attacks which have involved faked or staged imagery and video to bolster their claims. 

The lack of independent journalists in Gaza has made claims coming out of the battle-scarred enclave hard to verify, and often Israeli and Hamas accounts of incidents differ significantly. Hamas tightly regulates the reporting done by journalists in Gaza, and many Palestinian journalists working Gaza for foreign outlets have been revealed to have ties to Hamas or be active members of Hamas. 

The use of fake imagery and videos has occurred several times by both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel social media users, making attempts to verify sensational claims very difficult. The Gaza War has also been one of the first conflicts in which supporters of each side have waged significant battles for public opinion online, and one of the first in which the use of artificial intelligence imagery has been used to try to establish “facts” in the mind of social media users.  

However, the Gaza Civil Defense Agency later released graphic video of its emergency responders arriving at the building, putting out the fire, and bringing the charred bodies of several children out of the burned out structure. 

CNN reported that Hamdi al-Najjar remains in critical condition, while his surviving son, Adam, will need a surgery on one of his arms. 

None of the reports explained why the two doctors remained in Khan Younis despite the evacuation instructions, however, their status as doctors in one of Khan Younis’ last functioning hospitals could explain the choice to remain. 

Early Tuesday morning, the IDF announced that the Southern Command had launched an internal investigation into the airstrike in Khan Younis.

The investigation will be led by a brigadier general appointed by Southern Command Chief Maj.-Gen. Yaniv Asor.

The IDF acknowledged an airstrike in the area of Khan Younis targeting four armed Hamas terrorists. The investigation will seek to determine whether any link exists between that airstrike and the children’s deaths.

According to a report in The Jerusalem Post, citing IDF sources, the strike was legally authorized by military legal advisers and executed following extensive surveillance. The Post also reported that the IDF General Staff’s Fact-Finding Assessment Mechanism (FFAM) has not intervened, but is waiting to see the findings of the Southern Command investigation.

An officer who spoke to the Post also made mention of the problematic images shared widely on social media, reportedly depicting the family members.

“Something about the images appears inconsistent and illogical,” the officer said. The officer also noted that the investigation has so far found no indication of civilian presence in the immediate area of the strike.