Six children killed in Israeli strike while queuing for water in Gaza

Six children killed in Israeli strike while queuing for water in Gaza

Unverified videos shared online showed bloodied children and bodies at the scene, as residents rushed to evacuate the wounded using private cars and donkey carts.

An Israeli airstrike in Gaza on Sunday killed ten people, among them six children, who were queuing to fetch water.

The missile, reportedly fired by a drone, is said to have struck a crowd gathered around a water tanker in al-Nuseirat refugee camp, according to doctors at Nuseirat's al-Awda Hospital, where the victims were taken and an additional 16 injured persons were treated.

According to the BBC, the Israeli military later acknowledged a "technical error" in the strike reportedly targeting an Islamic Jihad member, saying the missile landed dozens of meters from its intended target.

It added that it was reviewing the incident and expressed regret for any civilian casualties.

Unverified videos shared online showed bloodied children and bodies at the scene, as residents rushed to evacuate the wounded using private cars and donkey carts.

The strike occurred amid an escalation in Israeli aerial attacks across Gaza.

According to a spokesperson for Gaza's Civil Defence Agency, an additional 19 other Palestinians were killed in three separate air strikes in Gaza on Sunday.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has reported treating more mass casualty cases at its Rafah field hospital in the past six weeks than in the entire previous year.

On Saturday alone, the hospital received 132 people with weapon-related injuries, 31 of whom passed away. According to the IRC, the majority had gunshot wounds, and all responsive patients reported being shot while trying to access food.

Since May 27, the facility has treated over 3,400 weapon-wounded individuals and recorded more than 250 deaths, surpassing all mass casualty cases handled in the last 12 months.

Meanwhile, Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza reported that 24 people were killed near another aid site on Saturday, where witnesses said Israeli troops opened fire on people seeking relief food.

The Israel Defence Forces denied causing injuries but said warning shots had been fired to disperse individuals perceived as a threat.

Israel launched its military offensive in Gaza following a cross-border attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023, which left around 1,200 people dead and 251 taken hostage. Since then, at least 57,882 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the country's health ministry.

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