Children Killed Fetching Water as Gaza Crisis Spirals

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza intensified on Sunday as at least 10 Palestinians, including six children, were killed in an Israeli strike on a water collection site in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

The attack, which also left 16 others wounded, comes amid a severe water shortage and growing famine conditions in the besieged enclave.

Medical workers and local sources told Al Jazeera that Israeli forces killed at least 59 Palestinians across the territory on Sunday alone.

28 deaths have been reported in Gaza City as strikes targeted densely populated residential zones and displacement camps.

Al Jazeera correspondent Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City, highlighted the worsening water crisis.

“Even though the water available is often contaminated and unsafe to drink, people have no choice,” Mahmoud said.

“Thirst drives them to these collection points, which have now become scenes of repeated bloodshed.”

According to Mahmoud, this is not an isolated incident.

“This kind of targeting has happened nearly ten times in recent months,” he said.

“People are being shot or bombed while simply trying to access water.”

Saturday also saw a spike in casualties, with at least 110 Palestinians killed by Israeli air raids, including 34 people who had gathered at a food distribution center run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in Rafah.

The foundation, supported by both Israel and the United States, has assumed control of aid distribution in Gaza since late May, sidelining more experienced and established humanitarian organizations like the United Nations.

Mahmoud criticized GHF’s approach, describing it as both inefficient and dangerous.

“People are risking their lives for food that barely feeds their families,” he said.

“Desperation forces them to walk long distances, sometimes up to 15 kilometers, often overnight, to reach aid distribution points.

And even then, they face live gunfire from Israeli forces.”

The ongoing war and siege have left Gaza’s population in critical need.

The Gaza Government Media Office reported that at least 67 children have died of starvation since October 2023.

UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, has warned of a steep rise in malnutrition cases as Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip enters its 103rd day.

One UNRWA clinic in Gaza reported a sharp increase in severely malnourished patients since March, coinciding with the complete blockade of humanitarian aid entry into the territory.

The agency confirmed it has been unable to deliver aid to the region for months due to Israeli restrictions.

Meanwhile, airstrikes continue to rain down across Gaza. On Sunday, an Israeli warplane bombed a home in the al-Sawarkah district near the Nuseirat camp, killing 10 people.

In the northern Gaza Strip, six people were killed in the Shati refugee camp, while another five died in a separate strike on Hamid Street in western Gaza City.

Further attacks in the al-Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City claimed the lives of a girl and another civilian.

In southern Gaza, three people were confirmed dead after Israeli forces struck a displacement tent in the al-Mawasi area near Khan Younis, according to medics at the Nasser Medical Complex.

Elsewhere, Israeli troops reportedly demolished multiple residential buildings in the Tuffah area of eastern Gaza City.

These events unfold against the backdrop of faltering ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Qatar, with no apparent breakthrough after a week of indirect talks.

Despite mounting international pressure for a truce, the Israeli military continues its assault on Gaza, which began on October 7, 2023.

According to Palestinian authorities, the offensive has killed over 58,000 people, the vast majority being women and children.

Nearly the entire population of Gaza, over 2 million people, has been displaced at least once since the conflict began, with the war creating catastrophic humanitarian conditions across the enclave.

In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

It cited war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Additionally, South Africa has filed a case at the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.

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