Israeli missile kills six children collecting water in Gaza
The strike hit a water distribution point in Nuseirat refugee camp on Sunday, killing six children and injuring 17 others, said Ahmed Abu Saifan, an emergency physician at Al-Awda Hospital.
The Israeli military said the missile had 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.
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.
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Ramadan Nassar, a witness who lives in the area, told the Associated Press that about 20 children and 14 adults had been lined up to get water. He said Palestinians walk some 2 kilometres to fetch water from the area.
In Nuseirat, a small boy leaned over a body bag to say goodbye to a friend.
'There is no safe place,' resident Raafat Fanouna said as some people went over the rubble with sticks and bare hands

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Sydney Morning Herald
19 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
New footage emerges of attacks on Toll offices in Melbourne
'Police are also looking at whether the incidents are related to any other recent incidents of criminal damage, including an incident at a Greensborough business earlier in July. 'At this time no one has been arrested and the investigation remains ongoing.' Another of the new clips, which the account claims depicts a July 20 attack on a Toll property in Westmeadows, incudes a caption praising terrorist group Hamas and links the vandalism to the Gaza conflict. 'As drivers of genocide in both this colony and overseas, all Toll Holdings assets are valid targets of sabotage,' the clip's caption states. In a statement to The Age, a Toll spokesperson said the logistics giant was aware of the videos. 'We are co-operating fully with police and have provided relevant information to assist with their investigation,' Toll said. 'We take these incidents seriously and continue to maintain security measures across all sites. The safety and wellbeing of our people remain our top priority. 'Regarding claims made by activist groups, Toll provides logistics services compliant with all applicable laws and regulations. Toll Group remains committed to operating safely, responsibly, and in full compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.' NIOA has been contacted for comment. A third video, posted on July 18, shows red paint being sprayed on Toll's St Kilda Road offices and inside the foyer, and windows being smashed. Late on Thursday afternoon, the Instagram account also claimed a federal government contract would see Toll transporting weapons and explosives. Footage of the attacks has been shared by the Australian Jewish Association, a community group that says it is 'guided by Torah and centre-right Australian values', drawing attention to the initial account and criticising the federal government. 'When the Albanese Government incites against the Jewish State, extremists often are inspired to carry our attacks,' it said on X. 'Do you remember a time of so much political and antisemitic violence in Australia? When will the Government take this threat seriously? Are they waiting until people are killed?' On July 17, the Whistleblowers, Activists and Communities Alliance (WACA) held a snap demonstration outside Toll's St Kilda Road offices, while the red paint and smashed windows were still to be rectified. WACA did not claim responsibility for the latest videos, but posted in support of the incident on its own Instagram account. WACA has drawn the attention of police recently for a series of escalating actions, including shutting down the Port of Melbourne to block Israeli shipping contractors and scaling the roofs of buildings where weapons parts are manufactured. Several WACA figures led a splinter group of about 20 people away from an anti-police rally on the night of Friday, July 4, before they stormed Israeli restaurant Miznon on Hardware Lane. Loading Several people have since been charged over that incident.

The Age
19 hours ago
- The Age
New footage emerges of attacks on Toll offices in Melbourne
'Police are also looking at whether the incidents are related to any other recent incidents of criminal damage, including an incident at a Greensborough business earlier in July. 'At this time no one has been arrested and the investigation remains ongoing.' Another of the new clips, which the account claims depicts a July 20 attack on a Toll property in Westmeadows, incudes a caption praising terrorist group Hamas and links the vandalism to the Gaza conflict. 'As drivers of genocide in both this colony and overseas, all Toll Holdings assets are valid targets of sabotage,' the clip's caption states. In a statement to The Age, a Toll spokesperson said the logistics giant was aware of the videos. 'We are co-operating fully with police and have provided relevant information to assist with their investigation,' Toll said. 'We take these incidents seriously and continue to maintain security measures across all sites. The safety and wellbeing of our people remain our top priority. 'Regarding claims made by activist groups, Toll provides logistics services compliant with all applicable laws and regulations. Toll Group remains committed to operating safely, responsibly, and in full compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.' NIOA has been contacted for comment. A third video, posted on July 18, shows red paint being sprayed on Toll's St Kilda Road offices and inside the foyer, and windows being smashed. Late on Thursday afternoon, the Instagram account also claimed a federal government contract would see Toll transporting weapons and explosives. Footage of the attacks has been shared by the Australian Jewish Association, a community group that says it is 'guided by Torah and centre-right Australian values', drawing attention to the initial account and criticising the federal government. 'When the Albanese Government incites against the Jewish State, extremists often are inspired to carry our attacks,' it said on X. 'Do you remember a time of so much political and antisemitic violence in Australia? When will the Government take this threat seriously? Are they waiting until people are killed?' On July 17, the Whistleblowers, Activists and Communities Alliance (WACA) held a snap demonstration outside Toll's St Kilda Road offices, while the red paint and smashed windows were still to be rectified. WACA did not claim responsibility for the latest videos, but posted in support of the incident on its own Instagram account. WACA has drawn the attention of police recently for a series of escalating actions, including shutting down the Port of Melbourne to block Israeli shipping contractors and scaling the roofs of buildings where weapons parts are manufactured. Several WACA figures led a splinter group of about 20 people away from an anti-police rally on the night of Friday, July 4, before they stormed Israeli restaurant Miznon on Hardware Lane. Loading Several people have since been charged over that incident.

The Age
2 days ago
- The Age
New police chief reveals firm stance on protest permits, issues warning to organised crime
On Sunday, pro-Palestine protesters marched through the city to the National Gallery of Victoria. Security closed the entry while police monitored the rally outside. There has been fierce debate about what constitutes hate speech by attendees, who have repeatedly been heard chanting 'Death to the IDF [Israel Defence Forces]' and 'Death to the IOF [Israeli Occupying Force]'. Former Victorian governor Linda Dessau said last week the slogans were hate speech and that those who use them should be prosecuted. In his first interview with The Age since arriving from New Zealand, Bush also insisted he had the 'utmost confidence' in the protracted police investigation into the firebombing of a Ripponlea synagogue last December, an attack which drew international condemnation. Speaking on a wide range of issues, Bush warned that serious youth offenders would face prison if they continued to endanger community safety, that organised criminals and outlaw motorcycle gangs would 'feel the heat' under his watch and that a taskforce established to investigate underworld infiltration of the CFMEU was making progress. The 65-year-old has spent most of his first month in the top job consulting community groups and government departments, while also visiting more than a dozen stations from Warrnambool to St Kilda. Lured out of retirement by the Allan government, Bush is keenly aware of the challenges ahead but hopes to replicate his success while serving as New Zealand's police commissioner from 2014 until 2020. Restoring public trust in the force will be one of Bush's most pressing concerns, following an unprecedented slump over the past three years. Just 55 per cent of Victorians were likely to have confidence in Victoria Police, according to an annual survey released in May, which was 20 per cent lower than the previous financial year. Bush insists that figure needs to be above 80 per cent. 'We are taking that survey on the chin, we are not hiding from it, we know what we need to do,' he said. 'We have to be operationally excellent, we have to be out there preventing crime, we've got to respond properly, and our investigations have to be first-class,' he said. Bush says there needed to be a 'hard edge and a soft edge' in the response to youth crime, which has soared to the highest rates since records began, and sparked widespread community anger. 'At the hard end, there has to be a consequence, and they must know there is a consequence. They do things that risk their own lives and risk the lives and safety of others, so at the tough end there has to be a consequence, and sometimes that consequence will be the loss of their liberty,' he said. He declined to discuss whether bail laws in Victoria were too lenient, but confirmed he had spoken with the state government over the past week regarding further reforms. The soft edge, according to Bush, will involve widespread community and government engagement, with a focus on crime prevention. He concedes the approach will take some time. 'We come to work to make a difference, so if you're not stopping stuff before it starts, you're really just turning up after the act. There is a massive obligation on us to prevent crime and harm, and we'll be changing the way we work to make sure we do a lot more of that,' he said. During his tenure as a senior officer in New Zealand, Bush was credited with implementing a crime prevention model that helped reduce offending by 20 per cent between 2010 and 2014. Public satisfaction with policing also rose 5 points to 84 per cent at the same time. However, in Victoria he has inherited a force that is struggling to fill 1100 vacant positions, has morale issues and is expected to lose a further 300 senior officers by the end of the year, when a golden handshake deal from the previous enterprise bargaining agreement expires. Bush recognises the urgent need for more boots on the ground. 'We are going to streamline our recruitment process and make it quicker for people to come into the business. It's quite a protracted process to find resilient people who are committed to the cause, but we have to attract the right people,' he said. Loading His blueprint for retaining existing officers includes the removal of duplication of paperwork and forging a partnership with New Zealand police to bolster the force's technological capabilities. Bush has the demeanour of someone from a military background: a man who might relish cold showers, hard beds and rigorous gym sessions before dawn. He has a stern warning for Victoria's crooks. 'Bikie gangs and other organised crime groups really need to feel the heat from law enforcement. The community should not tolerate the behaviour that they bring to the state ... they need to be clearly in our sights.' He confirmed he was also reviewing the efficacy of Victoria's asset-confiscation laws. Such laws were beefed up in New Zealand when he was commissioner. Bush would not discuss Iraq-based underworld figure Kazem 'Kaz' Hamad, widely considered to be responsible for more than 100 arson attacks on tobacco outlets and several murders, other than to say that Victoria Police was working closely with global law enforcement agencies. 'Bikie gangs and other organised crime groups really need to feel the heat from law enforcement.' Mike Bush, police chief commissioner Operation Hawk – the police taskforce established after The Age 's Building Bad series exposed allegations that gangland-linked figures were receiving large payments from companies on publicly funded projects looking to gain favour with figures within the CFMEU – was also adequately resourced and making headway, according to Bush. He has been a regular visitor to Melbourne over the years and has settled in quickly. He has found an apartment in the city's inner-east, discovered new restaurants and cafes, and thrown his support behind the Richmond Football Club.