Israel blames ‘technical error' for missile which killed six children in Gaza

Telegraph

6 days ago

Israel has blamed a 'technical error' for a missile strike which killed six children collecting water in Gaza.
Witnesses said a drone fired a missile at a crowd of families queuing with empty jerry cans next to a water tanker in al-Nuseirat refugee camp.
Ten people were killed with a further seven children and nine adults requiring treatment at the Al-Awda Hospital.
Locals rushed to the scene and carried the injured away in the back of trucks and on donkey carts.
The Israeli military said it was targeting a militant but that a technical error made its munition fall 'dozens of metres from the target.'
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it was aware of the 'claim regarding casualties in the area as a result', adding that it works to mitigate civilian harm 'as much as possible' and ' regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians '.
Additionally, health officials said an Israeli strike hit a group of citizens walking in the street on Sunday afternoon, killing 11 people and injuring around 30 others in central Gaza City.
Among those killed was surgeon Dr Ahmed Qandil, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry. He was on his way to work at the Al Ali Arab Baptist Hospital, which also took the casualties and dead from the strike.
In the central town of Zawaida, an Israeli strike on a home killed nine others including two women and three children, officials at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said.
The Israeli military said it was unaware of a strike on the home but has struck more than 150 targets over the past 24 hours, including what it said were weapons storage facilities, missile launchers and sniping posts.
Israel says terror group Hamas has embedded its terror infrastructure in civilian areas and in safe zones, in addition to hijacking aid sites. The Hamas-run health ministry said more than 58,000 people have died in Gaza during the war, but it does not differentiate between combatants and civilians.
Israel says more than 21,000 militants have been killed since the start of the war, sparked by the Oct 7, 2023 Hamas invasion of southern Israel in which around 1,200 mostly civilians were killed and 251 taken hostage
Ceasefire talks amid the 21-month war are still stalling. A new deal hoped to bring back some of the remaining 50 Israeli hostages in Gaza, and pause the war which has seen swathes of Gaza razed and two-thirds of its population displaced.
While Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, was in Washington last week to meet with President Donald Trump to discuss a possible ceasefire deal, there have been clashes on both sides including Israel's insistence on keeping a military presence in the strip during the truce, which Hamas will not agree to.
Israel says that it will only end the war once Hamas is removed from power and disarmed and the 50 hostages, only half of whom are believed to be alive, freed.
In the occupied West Bank, the funeral of Palestinian-American Sayfollah Musallet, 20, who was killed in an attack by Israeli settlers this weekend, took place on Sunday.
Violence has soared in the territory since the Gaza war as tensions between Israeli settlers and Arabs rise, and all work permits of tens of thousands of Palestinians coming to Israel have been revoked.
The Palestinian health ministry said Musallet, a Florida native, was killed after being beaten by Israeli settlers. Seifeddine Musalat, 23, was also killed in the attack and Mohammed al-Shalabi, was shot in the chest.
On Sunday their bodies were carried through the streets of Al-Mazraa a-Sharqiya.
On Saturday, Mr Musallet's family said they want the US State Department to investigate his death and hold the settlers accountable.
Israel's military said Palestinians hurled rocks at Israelis in the area on Friday, lightly wounding two people and setting off a larger confrontation. Palestinians and rights groups have long accused the military of ignoring settler violence.