Israeli Strike Kills Six Children at Gaza Water Point, Father Speaks Out
NUSEIRAT, GAZA — Ten Palestinians, including six children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike Sunday morning as they waited for water in the Nuseirat refugee camp. Among the dead was Abdullah Mahmoud, who had gone out with jerrycans “searching for a sip of water,” his father said.
“They were standing in line with empty stomachs and dry lips when the strike hit,” Mahmoud Abdul Rahman Ahmed told a local journalist after the blast. “There was no warning. The plane just bombed them.”
The airstrike struck a street near a water distribution point in the densely populated New Camp section of central Gaza. Footage from the scene showed destroyed buildings, bloodied bodies, and scattered water containers. Screams filled the air as rescuers pulled victims from the rubble.
Al-Awda Hospital confirmed ten people died in the blast. The children were identified as Abdullah Mahmoud, Badr al-Din Qaraman, Siraj Khaled Ibrahim, Ibrahim Ashraf Abu Urayban, Karam Ashraf al-Ghussein, and Lana Ashraf al-Ghussein. Sixteen others were wounded.
The Israeli military acknowledged the strike, stating it had been targeting a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. It claimed the bomb fell “dozens of meters from the intended target” due to a “technical error.”
“We regret any harm to uninvolved civilians,” a military spokesperson said, adding that the incident is under investigation.
But Mahmoud believes the attack carried a broader message. “It’s as if Israel wants to show us that even drinking water isn’t allowed,” he said. “They weren’t fighters. They were children hoping for peace and safety hoping to live like any other child in the world.”
The strike has sparked renewed outrage as Gaza’s water crisis worsens. The United Nations has warned that residents are receiving less than 15 liters of water per person per day below emergency levels due to lack of fuel, damaged infrastructure, and restricted humanitarian access.
“You see children lining up every morning with yellow jerrycans, waiting for just a few liters,” said Sam Rose, a senior official with the UN relief agency for Palestinians. “Every death is a tragedy. But this one children bombed while trying to get water symbolizes how far this war has gone.”
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell called the incident “horrific” and urged Israel to review its rules of engagement and abide by international humanitarian law.
This strike comes just days after a similar attack in Deir al-Balah killed ten children and three women outside a clinic. In that case, the Israeli military also claimed it had aimed at a Hamas militant nearby.
On average, one classroom’s worth of children have died each day since Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza, according to UN officials.
Israel’s UN ambassador, Danny Danon, dismissed the focus on Israeli strikes. “The children in Gaza are victims of Hamas,” he said, claiming that the militant group uses civilians as human shields. “The UN should pressure Hamas to end this war.”
But Mahmoud rejected that argument. “We’re civilians. We don’t have weapons. We’re just people trying to survive,” he said. “This war must end. This killing must stop.”
The United Nations Security Council is set to meet later this week to address the growing number of child deaths in Gaza following a request by the United Kingdom.
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