Several children were killed in an Israeli strike on central Gaza as they went to collect water on Sunday, July 13, according to multiple media reports. The BBC wrote that ten Palestinians, six of whom were children, died in the attack.
The Israeli military said it aimed for the missile to hit an Islamic Jihad militant in the area, but a malfunction caused it to fall “dozens of meters from the target,” it said in a statement to Reuters. “The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians,” the statement said.
Ahmed Abu Saifan, an emergency physician at Al-Awda Hospital, told Reuters the strike happened at a water distribution point in Nuseirat refugee camp.
Ramadan Nassar, who witnessed what happened, said in an interview with the Associated Press that around 20 children and 14 adults had been lined up to get water when the strike happened.
This comes at a time when people are finding it harder and harder to get water and food in Gaza.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the near East said on Saturday, July 12 that a fuel shortage in Gaza has reached critical levels, affecting water systems, as well as hospitals, sanitation networks, ambulances and other humanitarian operations.
“Water production and sanitation systems will shut down, leaving families without safe drinking water, while solid waste and sewage pile up in the streets,” UNWRA said in a statement. “These conditions expose families to deadly disease outbreaks and push Gaza’s most vulnerable even closer to death.”
In addition, on Saturday, 27 people were killed when Israeli troops opened fire on people trying to access aid from a site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation near southern Rafah, according to CNN. The Israeli military as well as GHF denied anyone was injured near the site, though the International Committee of the Red Cross said its field hospital in the area received 132 patients from “weapon-related injuries.”
“This situation is unacceptable,” the ICRC said in a statement. “The alarming frequency and scale of these mass casualty incidents underscore the horrific conditions civilians in Gaza are enduring.”
In central Gaza, at least 12 people were killed and more than 40 injured in an Israeli airstrike on a crowded junction, CNN wrote, citing Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex in central Gaza City.
On Sunday, the Palestinian health ministry said 139 bodies were brought to Gaza hospitals within 24 hours, though a number of people remain under rubble. This brings the total Palestinian deaths since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, 2023 to 58,026, the ministry said, though studies have found the actual number could be higher than what’s being reported.
Ceasefire talks
Although talks over a U.S. proposal for a 60-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas are going on in Doha, Qatar, Reuters wrote they appeared to be deadlocked for now, based on Israeli and Palestinian sources.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a video posted on Sunday, said Israel will not back down from its core demands. These include releasing the hostages taken on Oct. 7, 2023 that are still in Gaza and destroying Hamas.
Funeral held for Palestinian-American killed in West Bank
Funerals were held for a Palestinian-American, Sayfollah Musallet, and his Palestinian friend, Mohammed Al-Shalabi, who were both killed in attacks by Israeli settlers. While visiting the West Bank from Florida, Musallet was “brutally beaten to death” by a mob of Israeli settlers, according to his family, who said they were trying to steal their land. Al-Shalabi was reportedly shot in the chest.
Family members of Musallet said the group of settlers prevented paramedics and ambulances from getting to him. Once they left, Musallet’s younger brother rushed him to the ambulance, but he died before getting to the hospital.
In a statement, Musallet’s family members said he had traveled to Palestine on June 4 to spend time with loved ones. Also called “Saif,” Musallet was a “beloved member of the community,” known for his “generosity, ambition and connection to his Palestinian heritage,” his family said.
“This is an unimaginable nightmare and an injustice that no family should ever have to face,” Musallet’s family said. “We demand the U.S. State Department lead an immediate investigation and hold the Israeli settlers who killed Saif accountable for their crimes. We demand justice.”
The State Department in a statement to Straight Arrow News confirmed the death of a U.S. citizen in the West Bank on Friday, July 11, but said it will not comment out of respect for the victims’ loved ones.
Joumana Al-Shalabi, Mohammed Al-Shalabi’s mother, said to the Guardian that they found her son’s body under a tree.
“The settlers beat him and shot him with bullets,” she said. “He walked for a long distance to try to escape from them but he couldn’t save himself.”
The Associated Press said the two men’s bodies were carried through the streets on Sunday while mourners waved Palestinian flags.
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Author: Cassandra Buchman
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