Israeli missile hits Gaza children collecting water, IDF blames malfunction
8 Palestinians, most of them children, were killed. Israel said the missile had been intended to hit an Islamic Jihad militant in the area
At least eight Palestinians, most of them children, were killed and more than a dozen were wounded in central Gaza when they went to collect water on Sunday, local officials said, in an Israeli strike which the military said missed its target.
The Israeli military said the missile had been intended to hit an Islamic Jihad militant in the area but that a malfunction had caused it to fall “dozens of metres from the target”.
“The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians,” it said in a statement, adding that the incident was under review.
The strike hit a water distribution point in Nuseirat refugee camp, killing six children and injuring 17 others, said Ahmed Abu Saifan, an emergency doctor at Al-Awda Hospital.
Water shortages in Gaza have worsened sharply in recent weeks with fuel shortages causing desalination and sanitation facilities to close, making people dependent on collection centres where they can fill up their plastic containers.
Hours later, 12 people were killed by an Israeli strike on a market in Gaza City, including a prominent hospital consultant, Ahmad Qandil, Palestinian media reported. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack.