Six Children Among 10 Killed in Gaza Water Line Strike, Israel Admits Targeting Error
A drone strike in Gaza’s al-Nuseirat refugee camp killed ten Palestinians on Sunday, including six children, as they waited to collect water. Israeli forces acknowledged a targeting error and said the strike missed its intended militant target by several meters.
The explosion hit a crowd gathered around a water tanker, according to eyewitness accounts. Many were holding jerry cans, waiting for their turn in the queue. Bloodied bodies were rushed from the scene using donkey carts and private vehicles.
The victims were taken to al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat, where 16 more people, including seven children, were treated for injuries. Medical staff confirmed the dead included six minors.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that the strike was meant to eliminate a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. However, a “technical error” caused the munition to detonate far from its intended target. The military said it “regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians” and that the incident is under internal review.
Footage circulated online following the attack showed panicked residents carrying children through the rubble. The IDF said it is aware of “claims regarding casualties in the area” and reiterated its stated effort to reduce harm to noncombatants.
Sunday’s strike came amid a surge in Israeli aerial operations across Gaza. According to Gaza’s Civil Defense, 19 more Palestinians died the same day in three other attacks on residential areas in central Gaza and Gaza City.
Separately, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported an alarming spike in injuries at its field hospital in Rafah. The facility received 132 patients with weapon-related injuries on Saturday alone 31 of whom later died. The ICRC noted that most of the victims were shot while approaching food distribution centers. Since May 27, the hospital has recorded over 250 deaths and treated more than 3,400 wounded.
“The frequency and scale of these incidents highlight the extreme dangers facing Gaza’s civilian population,” the ICRC said in a statement.
On Saturday, Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza reported 24 more deaths near an aid distribution site. Witnesses claimed Israeli troops opened fire as people tried to access food. The IDF denied that anyone had been harmed by Israeli fire in that incident. A military official stated that warning shots were used to disperse individuals deemed a threat.
The United Nations human rights office said it has documented 789 killings tied to aid-related activity since late May. Of these, 615 occurred near Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution centers, which are managed by U.S. security contractors in Israeli-controlled zones. Another 183 fatalities were linked to attacks near UN and NGO convoys.
The GHF pushed back against the UN figures, calling them “false and misleading.” GHF representative Johnnie Moore said, “We are not denying there have been deaths near aid sites, but not all casualties can be attributed to our facilities.”
Israel has barred international news agencies from entering Gaza, restricting independent reporting on the ground.
The war in Gaza began after Hamas launched a deadly cross-border assault on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 Israelis and taking 251 hostages. In response, Israel began a military campaign that has since killed over 57,800 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which is overseen by Hamas.
The humanitarian crisis has deepened. More than 90% of homes in Gaza are damaged or destroyed. Basic services hospitals, water, sanitation, and electricity are barely functional. Shortages of food, fuel, and medicine continue to escalate.
On Friday, the United Nations confirmed that 75,000 liters of fuel were allowed into Gaza for the first time in 130 days. UN agencies said this is “far from enough” to support critical infrastructure.
In a joint statement, nine UN agencies warned that fuel shortages are forcing hospitals to shut down emergency services and maternity units. “Hospitals are already going dark. Ambulances can no longer move,” the statement read.
Israeli forces continue expanding their operations across the enclave, including near Gaza’s largest functioning hospital, where medics say conditions are deteriorating rapidly. Aid organizations say civilians remain trapped between violence and a collapsing humanitarian system, with no safe haven in sight.
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