Media and Social Platforms Share Misleading Photos of Dr. Alaa al-Najjar and Her Family

On May 24, an Israeli airstrike on Khan Yunis killed nine of Dr. Alaa al-Najjar’s ten children while she was on duty. In the aftermath of the tragedy, media outlets and social media platforms flooded timelines with misleading and fake photos related to al-Najjar family.

Israeli Airstrike Kills Nine Children of Dr. Alaa al-Najjar

An Israeli strike killed nearly the entire family of the pediatrician Alaa al-Najjar while she was at work, according to Gaza health officials.

The attack hit al-Najjar’s home on Friday, setting it on fire and killing nine of her ten children, Gaza’s Government Media Office reported. Two of the children remain trapped under the rubble.

The office identified the victims as Sidar, Luqman, Sadin, Reval, Ruslan, Jubran, Eve, Rakan, and Yahya, aged between seven months and 12 years.

Al-Najjar’s husband suffered critical chest and head injuries, including a skull fracture, and now receives treatment in the intensive care unit at Nasser Hospital.

Francesca Albanese, the U.N.’s special rapporteur for the Palestinian territory, condemned the strike on the al-Najjar home, describing it as part of a “sadistic pattern” and a “new phase of genocide” targeting Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Graeme Groom, a British surgeon working at the hospital, told the BBC it was “unbearably cruel” that Alaa al-Najjar, who dedicated years to caring for children, lost nearly all her own children in a single missile strike. He had just operated on her surviving 11-year-old son.

Media and Social Media Amplify Misinformation About Dr. Alaa al-Najjar’s Family

Following the devastating attack in Khan Yunis, media outlets and social media users widely circulated several misleading and fake photos claiming to show Dr. Alaa al-Najjar and her family members.

Major outlets like CNN and Anadolu Agency shared a photo they claimed to show Dr. Alaa visiting her injured husband, Hamdi al-Najjar, in the intensive care unit at Nasser Hospital.

Palestinian journalist Hani Alshaer captured the photos of the same scene, which were uploaded to Getty Images with the same claim.

Misbar’s investigation found the photo's claim to be misleading. The two women shown visiting the injured man are not Dr. Alaa but rather the nieces of Hamdi al-Najjar, Dr. Alaa's husband.

Al Jazeera interviewed both women in separate reports, where they narrated details of the attack on Hamdi’s home. One woman, identified as Samah al-Najjar, is Hamdi’s niece. 

The second, Shahd al-Najjar, is also his niece, as appeared in both interviews.

Dr. Alaa al-Najjar made a rare appearance only when bidding farewell to her nine children, a moment Al Jazeera also documented and published recently.

Social media users also played a role in spreading misinformation about the al-Najjar family. Among them was American author Noura Erakat, who shared a photo she believed depicted the deceased children of Dr. Alaa al-Najjar, while expressing sympathy for the family’s tragic loss.

“Dr. Alaa Al Najjar’s home was targeted with her children inside. She received her children, who burned to death, while on duty,” Erakat wrote alongside the photo.

Misbar investigated the viral photo and found the claim to be misleading. The photo does not show Dr. Alaa’s children but depicts the Abu Daqa children, who were killed in a brutal Israeli airstrike in Khan Yunis on March 20.

Another X user shared a photo claiming to show Dr. Alaa al-Najjar holding one of her dead children and screaming, while a boy and a man tried to comfort her.

Misbar’s team conducted a detailed reverse image search and found the claim to be misleading. The photo is older than claimed and does not feature Dr. Alaa.

Al Jazeera Net originally published the photo, crediting journalist Bilal Khalid, who captured it at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. The photo shows family members mourning their child, Diaa, who Israel killed on December 24, 2023.

Despite the availability of dozens of real photos documenting the tragic loss of Dr. Alaa al-Najjar’s family, social media users went further by spreading fake images to stir sympathy.

An X user, whose post reached nearly a quarter million views, uploaded an image claiming to show Dr. Alaa weeping over the charred corpses of her children while on duty. 

The user captioned it, “I can not even begin to imagine how Dr. Alaa al Najjar is feeling. Nine of her 10 children were killed in an Israeli bomb, most of their bodies charred beyond recognition.”

Misbar’s team analyzed the photo and found it to be AI-generated. Using the Hive Moderation tool, they detected a 94.1% likelihood that artificial intelligence software created the image.

Another X user published a separate image claiming to show Dr. Alaa standing and crying among children’s corpses lying on the floor.

Misbar’s investigation found the photo to be AI-generated. Despite obvious AI flaws, the Hive Moderation tool indicates a 66% likelihood of AI.

Al-Najjar Family Mourns Their Dead Children

Sahar al-Najjar told the BBC, “[Dr. Alaa] is currently in a state of shock, and my only fear for her is the moment of collapse that will follow the moments of steadfastness she is going through now.”

Al-Najjar denied having any connection to Hamas, refuting the Israeli military's claim of striking suspects, stressing that what her family endured can only be described as “a horrific scenario that no one could have imagined.” She added, “We are a medical family, most of whose members work in various medical professions and specialties. Therefore, there is no justification for this targeting.”

Al Jazeera also released a video report covering the devastating loss of Dr. Alaa al-Najjar’s family, showing photos that display her children.

While many media newsrooms and social media users have spread misinformation in an attempt to sympathize with al-Najjar family, they do not help the family; they risk undermining the truth of their tragedy by fueling confusion and misleading narratives.

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