Latest news with #Ahmed Abu Saifan
SBS Australia
3 days ago
- Politics
- SBS Australia
Israeli attack on Gaza water distribution site kills at least eight, including children
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 strike hit a water distribution point in Nuseirat refugee camp, killing six children and injuring 17 others, said Ahmed Abu Saifan, an emergency physician 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. 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". Medics say those killed in a strike that hit a water distribution point included a 12-year-old. Source: AP / Abdel Kareem Hana 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. Gaza's health ministry said on Sunday that more than 58,000 people had been killed since October 2023, with 139 people added to the death toll over the past 24 hours. The ministry says over half of those killed are women and children. Ceasefire talks stalled Negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire appeared to be deadlocked, with the two sides divided over the extent of an eventual Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave, Palestinian and Israeli sources said at the weekend. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to convene ministers late on Sunday to discuss the latest developments in the talks, an Israeli official said. The indirect talks over a US proposal for a 60-day ceasefire are being held in Doha, but optimism that surfaced last week of a looming deal has largely faded, with both sides accusing each other of intransigence. Israel's army says a missile malfunctioned and missed its target, hitting a water distribution site. Source: AAP / AP / Alex Brandon Netanyahu in a video he posted on Telegram on Sunday, said Israel would not back down from its core demands - releasing all the hostages still in Gaza, destroying Hamas and ensuring Gaza will never again be a threat to Israel. At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza are believed to still be alive. Netanyahu and his ministers were also set to discuss a plan on Sunday to move hundreds of thousands of Gazans to the southern area of Rafah, in what Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has described as a new "humanitarian city" but which would be likely to draw international criticism for forced displacement. An Israeli source briefed on discussions in Israel said that the plan was to establish the complex in Rafah during the ceasefire, if it is reached. On Saturday, a Palestinian source familiar with the truce talks said that Hamas rejected withdrawal maps which Israel proposed, because they would leave around 40 per cent of the territory under Israeli control, including all of Rafah. Israel's bombardment of Gaza has displaced almost the entire population of more than 2 million people, but Palestinians there say nowhere is safe in the coastal enclave. Early on Sunday morning, a missile hit a house in Gaza City where a family had moved to after receiving an evacuation order from their home in the southern outskirts. "My aunt, her husband and the children, are gone. What is the fault of the children who died in an ugly bloody massacre at dawn?" said Anas Matar, standing in the rubble of the building. "They came here, and they were hit. There is no safe place in Gaza," he said.
Arab News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Israeli missile hits Gaza children collecting water
JERUSALEM: 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 intended to hit an Islamic Jihad militant in the area but that a malfunction had caused it to fall 'dozens of meters 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 physician 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 centers 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. Gaza's health ministry said on Sunday that more than 58,000 people had been killed since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023, with 139 people added to the death toll over the past 24 hours. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and fighters in its tally, but says over half of those killed are women and children. Talks stalled Negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire appeared to be deadlocked, with the two sides divided over the extent of an eventual Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave, Palestinian and Israeli sources said at the weekend. The indirect talks over a US proposal for a 60-day ceasefire are being held in Doha, but optimism that surfaced last week of a looming deal has largely faded, with both sides accusing each other of intransigence. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a video he posted on Telegram on Sunday said Israel would not back down from its core demands — releasing all the hostages still in Gaza, destroying Hamas and ensuring Gaza will never again be a threat to Israel. Netanyahu was expected to convene ministers later on Sunday to discuss the ceasefire talks. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages into Gaza. At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages there are believed to still be alive. Israel's campaign against Hamas has displaced almost the entire population of more than 2 million people, but Gazans say nowhere is safe in the coastal enclave. Early on Sunday morning, a missile hit a house in Gaza City where a family had moved to after receiving an evacuation order from their home in the southern outskirts. 'My aunt, her husband and the children, are gone. What is the fault of the children who died in an ugly bloody massacre at dawn?' said Anas Matar, standing in the rubble of the building. 'They came here, and they were hit. There is no safe place in Gaza,' he said.
Sky News
3 days ago
- Health
- Sky News
IDF says it missed intended target after children killed collecting water in Gaza
The Israeli military says it missed its intended target after 10 Palestinians - including six children - were killed in a strike at a water collection point in Gaza. Another 17 people were wounded in the strike on a water distribution point in Nuseirat refugee camp, said Ahmed Abu Saifan, an emergency physician at Al Awda Hospital. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it had intended to hit an Islamic Jihad militant but a "technical error with the munition" had caused the missile to fall "dozens of metres from the target". The IDF said the incident is under review, adding that it "works to mitigate harm to uninvolved civilians as much as possible" and "regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians". Ramadan Nassar, who lives in the area, said around 20 children and 14 adults were lined up Sunday morning to fill up water. When the strike occurred, everyone ran and some, including those who were severely injured, fell to the ground, he said. In total, 19 people were killed in Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, local health officials said. Two women and three children were among nine killed after an Israeli strike on a home in the central town of Zawaida, officials at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said. Israel has claimed it hit more than 150 targets in the besieged enclave in the past day. The latest strikes come after the Israel military opened fire near an aid centre in Rafah on Saturday. The Red Cross said 31 people were killed. The IDF has said it fired "warning shots" near the aid distribution site but it was "not aware of injured individuals" as a result. 1:23 The war in Gaza started in response to Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed 1,200 people and saw about 250 taken hostage. More than 58,000 Palestinians have since been killed, with more than half being women and children, according to Gaza's health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. US President Donald Trump has said he is closing in on another ceasefire agreement that would see more hostages released and potentially wind down the war. But after two days of talks this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, there were no signs of a breakthrough, as a new sticking point emerged over the deployment of Israeli troops during the truce. Hamas still holds 50 hostages, with fewer than half of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
