Children fetching water killed in Israeli airstrike in Gaza, officials report

Sunday 13 July 2025 - 13:30

By: Dakir Madiha

Children fetching water killed in Israeli airstrike in Gaza, officials report

Ten people, including six children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Sunday while waiting to fill water containers in central Gaza, according to emergency service officials. The attack, which struck a water distribution point in the al-Nuseirat refugee camp, also injured 16 others, including seven children.

Targeted strike in al-Nuseirat

Eyewitnesses reported that a drone fired a missile at civilians queuing with empty jerry cans near a water tanker. The victims’ bodies were transferred to Nuseirat’s al-Awda Hospital, where doctors worked to treat the wounded. Residents rushed to assist survivors, transporting them to hospitals using private vehicles and donkey carts.

The Israeli military has not yet commented on the incident, which comes amid an escalation in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip.

Rising casualties in Gaza

Gaza’s Civil Defence Agency reported that 19 additional Palestinians were killed on Sunday in three separate airstrikes targeting residential areas in central Gaza and Gaza City.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) revealed that its Rafah field hospital had treated more mass casualty cases in the past six weeks than in the preceding year. On Saturday alone, the hospital admitted 132 patients with weapon-related injuries, 31 of whom died. Since new food distribution sites opened on May 27, the facility has treated over 3,400 injured patients and recorded more than 250 deaths.

ICRC officials described the situation as "horrific," emphasizing the dire conditions civilians face in Gaza.

Aid sites under fire

The United Nations (UN) reported 789 aid-related deaths since May, with 615 occurring near US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) sites. These sites, operated by private contractors, are located in military zones in southern and central Gaza.

While GHF acknowledged casualties near its operations, it disputed what it called "misleading statistics" attributed to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. GHF director Johnnie Moore stated, “100% of those casualties are being attributed to close proximity to GHF, and that is not true.”

Separately, 24 people were reportedly killed near an aid site in southern Gaza on Saturday. Witnesses claimed Israeli troops opened fire on civilians attempting to access food. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) denied the allegations, stating that warning shots were fired to deter perceived threats.

Humanitarian crisis deepens

The ongoing conflict, which began after Hamas’s cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, has devastated Gaza. According to the Hamas-run health ministry, over 57,882 Palestinians have been killed since the conflict began. Most of Gaza’s population has been displaced multiple times, with more than 90% of homes damaged or destroyed.

Infrastructure in Gaza has collapsed, leaving residents without adequate healthcare, water, sanitation, or food supplies. This week, for the first time in 130 days, 75,000 liters of fuel entered Gaza—a fraction of what is needed for essential services.

The United Nations has warned that fuel shortages have reached critical levels, threatening hospitals, water systems, and bakeries. “Hospitals are already going dark, maternity, neonatal, and intensive care units are failing, and ambulances can no longer move,” UN agencies said.