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At least eight Palestinians, all of whom were children, were killed and over a dozen others injured in central Gaza on Sunday by an Israeli missile attack that targeted the wrong location. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the missile was launched at a suspected Islamic Jihad operative but deviated from its target trajectory as a result of a technical failure and struck dozens of meters away from its initial target.
“The IDF regrets any damage to non-involved civilians,” the military stated in a press release, affirming that the incident is under investigation.
The missile hit a water distribution center in the Nuseirat refugee camp, a strategic juncture where people convened because of prevailing water shortages, according to emergency room doctor Dr. Ahmed Abu Saifan. Six children were instantly killed and 17 injured. Gaza’s deepening humanitarian crisis, with fuel shortages that have crippled desalination and sanitation facilities, has rendered these distribution centers essential for daily life.
In another incident on Sunday, Palestinian sources said 12 people, including a well-known hospital consultant, were killed when an Israeli plane bombed a busy market in Gaza City.
The Gaza Health Ministry reported that over 58,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war broke out in October 2023. It said that 139 individuals had died in the last 24 hours alone. Although the ministry did not distinguish between civilians and combatants, it pointed out that over half the victims were women and children.
The attempts to broker a ceasefire were at a deadlock during the weekend. Negotiations in Doha, on the basis of a U.S.-sponsored proposal for a 60-day truce, have made very little headway. The main points of contention are the scope of Israeli troop redeployment from Gaza and lasting security assurances.
The war started on October 7, 2023, when militants under Hamas leadership crossed into Israel and killed approximately 1,200 individuals and took 251 hostages. Among the estimated 50 still in Gaza, at least 20 are thought to be alive.
The war has forced almost all of Gaza’s two million citizens from their homes. A missile struck a Gaza City house on Sunday morning to which a family had moved after being forced to leave in southern Gaza.
“They came here, and they were hit. There is no safe place in Gaza,” survivor Anas Matar said, grieving for his relatives.
