Children queuing for supplements killed in Israeli strike in Gaza, hospital says

3 days ago Share Save David Gritten BBC News Reporting from Jerusalem Share Save

Merlyn Thomas explains what verified videos tell us about an air strike in Deir al-Balah that killed at least 15 people

At least 15 Palestinians, including eight children and two women, have been killed in an Israeli strike while queuing for nutritional supplements in front of a clinic in central Gaza, a hospital says. Video from al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah showed the bodies of several children and others lying on the floor as medics treated their wounds. US-based aid group Project Hope, which runs the clinic, said the attack was a blatant violation of international law. The Israeli military said it struck a “Hamas terrorist” and regretted any harm to civilians. They were among 66 people reportedly killed in Israeli strikes on Thursday, as Israel and Hamas continued talks on a ceasefire deal.

Despite optimism expressed by the US, which is acting as a mediator along with Qatar and Egypt, they do not so far seem to be close to a breakthrough.

Project Hope said Thursday morning’s strike in front of its Altayara health clinic in Deir al-Balah happened as patients had gathered outside, awaiting its opening to receive treatment for malnutrition, infections, chronic illnesses and more. “Suddenly, we heard the sound of a drone approaching, and then the explosion happened,” witness Yousef al-Aydi told AFP news agency. “The ground shook beneath our feet, and everything around us turned into blood and deafening screams.” Graphic footage posted on social media, which was verified by the BBC, showed the immediate aftermath of the attack, with adults and young children lying in a street, some severely wounded and others not moving. At the mortuary of nearby al-Aqsa hospital, relatives of those killed wept as they wrapped the dead children in white shrouds and body bags before performing funeral prayers. One woman told the BBC that her pregnant niece, Manal, and her daughter, Fatima, were among them, and that Manal’s son was in the intensive care unit. “She was queuing to get the children supplements when the incident happened,” Intisar said. Another woman standing nearby said: “For what sin were they killed?” “We are dying before the ears and eyes of the whole world. The whole world is watching the Gaza Strip. If people aren’t killed by the Israeli army, they die trying to get aid.” Project Hope’s president and CEO, Rabih Torbay, said the aid group’s clinics were “a place of refuge in Gaza where people bring their small children, women access pregnancy and postpartum care, people receive treatment for malnutrition, and more”. “Yet, this morning, innocent families were mercilessly attacked as they stood in line waiting for the doors to open,” he added. “Horrified and heartbroken cannot properly communicate how we feel anymore.” “This is a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, and a stark reminder that no-one and no place is safe in Gaza, even as ceasefire talks continue. This cannot continue.” Unicef boss Catherine Russell said: “The killing of families trying to access life-saving aid is unconscionable.” The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that it struck a member of the elite Nukhba forces of Hamas’s military wing who had taken part in the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel. “The IDF is aware of reports regarding a number of injured individuals in the area. The incident is under review,” it added. “The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals.”

Funeral prayers were held outside al-Aqsa hospital for those killed outside the clinic

Elsewhere, five people were killed when an Israeli drone struck tents in the coastal al-Mawasi area, in southern Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency. It posted a video showing first responders recovering the bodies of three young children buried beneath sand and debris. The attacks happened as mediators attempted to build momentum towards a ceasefire deal at indirect proximity talks in Doha. However, significant gaps between Israel and Hamas appear to remain. On Wednesday night, a senior Israeli official told journalists in Washington that it could take one or two weeks to reach an agreement. The official, who was speaking during a visit to the US by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also said that if an agreement was reached on a 60-day ceasefire, Israel would use that time to offer a permanent end to the war that would require Hamas to disarm. On Thursday Netanyahu confirmed that “in the beginning of that ceasefire we will enter negotiations on a permanent end to the war, that is, a permanent ceasefire” and that Israel’s conditions were that Hamas must disarm and Gaza be demilitarised. “If this can be achieved in negotiations – so much the better. If this will not be achieved in negotiations after 60 days, we will achieve it in other ways; by applying the might of our heroic army,” he said. Netanyahu told the right-wing US media outlet Newsmax, Hamas still held 50 hostages, “20 definitely alive, and some 30 that are not alive”. “We now have a deal that supposedly we’ll get half of the living and half of the dead out” he added, telling Newsmax “it’s been hell” for them. Earlier, Hamas issued a statement saying that the talks had been difficult, blaming Israeli “intransigence”. The group said it had shown flexibility in agreeing to release 10 hostages, but it reiterated that it was seeking a “comprehensive” agreement that would end the Israeli offensive.

At least 81 people killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza, Hamas-run health ministry says

29 June 2025 Share Save Dan Johnson Correspondent Reporting from Jerusalem Share Save

Reuters

At least 81 Palestinians have been killed and more than 400 injured in Israeli strikes across Gaza in the 24 hours until midday on Saturday, the Hamas-run health ministry said. In one incident, at least 11 people, including children, were killed after a strike near a stadium in Gaza City, Al-Shifa hospital staff and witnesses told news agencies. The stadium was being used to house displaced people, living in tents. Footage verified by the BBC shows people digging through the sand with their bare hands and spades to find bodies. The Israeli military said it was “unaware of injuries as a result of the strike” aside from “a suspicious individual who posed a threat” to its forces.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said he was hopeful a ceasefire could be agreed in the next week. Qatari mediators said they hoped US pressure could achieve a deal, following a truce between Israel and Iran that ended the 12-day conflict between the countries. In March, a two-month ceasefire collapsed when Israel launched fresh strikes on Gaza. The ceasefire deal – which started on 19 January – was set up to have three stages, but did not make it past the first stage. Stage two included establishing a permanent ceasefire, the return of remaining living hostages in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel, and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. On Thursday, a senior Hamas official told the BBC mediators have intensified their efforts to broker a new ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, but that negotiations with Israel remain stalled. A rally was organised on Saturday evening in Tel Aviv calling for a deal to free the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Organisers said “the time has come to end the fighting and bring everyone home in one phase”. Meanwhile, Israeli attacks in Gaza continue. Friday evening’s strike near the Palestine Stadium in Gaza City killed at least 11 people, hospital staff and witnesses said. One witness said they were sitting when they “suddenly heard a huge explosion” after a road was hit. “This area was packed with tents – now the tents are under the sand. We spent hours digging with our bare hands,” Ahmed Qishawi told the Reuters news agency. He said there are “no wanted people here, nor any terrorists as they [Israelis] claim… [there are] only civilian residents, children, who were targeted with no mercy,” he said. The BBC has verified footage showing civilians and emergency services digging through the sandy ground with their hands and spades to find bodies.

Fourteen more people were reported killed, some of them children, in strikes on an apartment block and a tent in the al-Mawasi area. The strike in al-Mawasi killed three children and their parents, who died while they were asleep, relatives told the Associated Press. “What did these children do to them? What is their fault?” the children’s grandmother, Suad Abu Teima, told the news agency. More people were reported killed on Saturday afternoon after an air strike on the Tuffah neighbourhood near Jaffa School, where hundreds of displaced Gazans were sheltering. The strike killed at least eight people, including five children, the Palestinian health ministry said. One witness Mohammed Haboub told Reuters that his nephews, father and the children of his neighbours were killed in the strike. “We didn’t do anything to them, why do they harm us? Did we harm them? We are civilians,” he told the news agency. The health ministry said ambulance and civil defence crews were facing difficulties in reaching a number of victims trapped under the rubble and on the roads, due to the impossibility of movement in some of the affected areas. Asked about the strike on the Tuffah neighbourhood, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told the BBC that it “struck a suspicious individual who posed a threat to IDF troops operating in the northern Gaza Strip”. “Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians”, it said, adding that it was “unaware of injuries as a result of the strike, besides the individual struck”.

Reuters Tents and people were buried after an Israeli strike on Friday

Ten people, including at least six children, killed in Israeli strike while fetching water, emergency workers say

At least 19 other Palestinians were killed across Gaza on Sunday, officials said. Picture: Getty

By Henry Moore

Ten people, including at least six children, have been killed in an Israeli air strike on a water distribution centre in Gaza, according to emergency officials.

Listen to this article Loading audio…

The bodies of those killed in the strike were sent to Nuseirat’s al-Awda Hospital, a doctor there said.

The Israeli military has yet to comment on the strikes.

At least 19 other Palestinians were killed across Gaza on Sunday, officials said.

Read more: SNP calls on Government to ‘stop the excuses’ and recognise Palestinian state

At least 59 Palestinians were killed after the IDF reportedly opened fire on an aid centre. Picture: Getty

It comes after at least 59 Palestinians were killed after the Israeli military reportedly opened fire near an aid centre in Gaza and launched a series of strikes across the region on Saturday.

According to the Red Cross, which operates a hospital in Rafah, 25 people were delivered “dead on arrival”, with a further six dying after being admitted.

132 patients also suffered “weapon-related injuries”, the humanitarian group said.

A statement read: “The overwhelming majority of these patients sustained gunshot wounds, and all responsive individuals reported they were attempting to access food distribution sites.”

Palestinian children reach out with their pots as they wait for food at a distribution point in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, June 2, 2025. Picture: Getty

Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry.The Israeli military denies firing at the aid centre near Rafah, claiming it only fired “warning shots.”

The IDF said: “Earlier today, several suspects were identified approaching IDF troops operating in the Rafah area, posing a threat to the troops, hundreds of metres from the aid distribution site.

“IDF troops operated in order to prevent the suspects from approaching them and fired warning shots.”

It comes after the UN’s human rights office said at least 798 Palestinians had been killed in Gaza while receiving aid over the last six weeks.

At least 615 people have been killed “in the vicinity” of aid sites run by US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said.

183 more people were killed “presumably on the route of aid convoys,” the spokesperson added.

The GHF has rejected these figures, branding them “misleading.”

The group has been at the centre of a slew of controversies since it began delivering aid along the Gaza Strip.

The group has four distribution centres, all guarded by private security,

Since Israel partially ended its blockade of Gaza, the IDF has been accused of firing at civilians queuing for aid on multiple occasions.

Israel has denied these claims, usually made by doctors on the ground, claiming it has only ever fired “warning shots.”

A GHF spokesperson said: “The fact is the most deadly attacks on aid sites have been linked to UN convoys.”

Children fetching water killed in Israeli strike in Gaza, emergency officials say

10 minutes ago Share Save Rushdi Abualouf Gaza correspondent Maia Davies BBC News Share Save

Getty Images Relatives mourn Palestinian child Saraj Ibrahim. In other photos and video, the man in grey is seen carrying the child’s body after a strike hit a water distribution point

Ten people, including six children, have been killed in an Israeli air strike while waiting to fill water containers in central Gaza on Sunday, emergency service officials say. Their bodies were sent to Nuseirat’s al-Awda Hospital, which also treated 16 injured people including seven children, a doctor there said. Eyewitnesses said a drone fired a missile at a crowd queuing with empty jerry cans next to a water tanker in al-Nuseirat refugee camp. The Israeli military has been asked to comment. Separately, the International Committee of the Red Cross said it had treated more mass casualty cases at its Rafah field hospital in southern Gaza in the last six weeks than in the 12 months before that.

Unverified footage shared online after the strike showed bloodied children and lifeless bodies, with screams of panic and desperation. Residents rushed to the scene and transported the wounded using private vehicles and donkey carts. The strike came as Israeli aerial attacks across the Gaza Strip have escalated. A spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defence Agency said 19 other Palestinians had been killed on Sunday, in three separate strikes on residential buildings in central Gaza and Gaza City. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that its field hospital in Rafah had received 132 patients “suffering from weapon-related injuries” on Saturday, 31 of whom died. ICRC said the “overwhelming majority” of the patients had gunshot wounds and “all responsive individuals” reported they had been trying to access food distribution sites. It added that the hospital had treated more than 3,400 weapon-wounded patients and recorded more than 250 deaths since new food distribution sites opened on 27 May – exceeding “all mass casualty cases treated at the hospital” in the year prior. “The alarming frequency and scale of these mass casualty incidents underscore the horrific conditions civilians in Gaza are enduring,” the ICRC said. On Friday, the UN human rights office said that it had recorded 789 aid-related killings. Of those, 615 were in the vicinity of the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)’s sites, which opened on 27 May and are operated by US private security contractors inside military zones in southern and central Gaza. The other 183 killings were recorded near UN and other aid convoys. The Israeli military said it recognised there had been incidents in which civilians had been harmed and that it was working to minimise “possible friction between the population and the [Israeli] forces as much as possible”. The GHF accused the UN of using “false and misleading” statistics from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. GHF boss Johnnie Moore previously told the BBC he was not denying deaths near aid sites, but said “100% of those casualties are being attributed to close proximity to GHF” and that was “not true”. On Saturday, southern Gaza’s Nasser hospital said 24 people were killed near an aid distribution site, where witnesses said Israeli troops had opened fire as people were trying to access food. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said there were “no known injured individuals” from IDF fire near the site. Separately, an Israeli military official said warning shots were fired to disperse people who the IDF believed were a threat.

Gaza is facing a man-made drought as its water systems collapse, the United Nations’ children agency said, as Israeli fire killed more than 40 Palestinians across the territory on Friday.

“Children will begin to die of thirst … Just 40 per cent of drinking water production facilities remain functional,” UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told reporters in Geneva.

“We are way below emergency standards in terms of drinking water for people in Gaza,” he added.

UNICEF also reported a 50 per cent increase in children aged six months to five years admitted for treatment of malnutrition from April to May in Gaza, and half a million people going hungry.

It said the U.S.-backed aid distribution system run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) was “making a desperate situation worse.”

A boy sits under a broken UNICEF sign as Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza City on Oct. 19, 2024. (Mahmoud Issa/Reuters)

On Friday, Israeli fire killed at least 44 Palestinians in Gaza, many of whom had been trying to get food, local officials said.

At least 25 people awaiting aid trucks were killed by Israeli fire south of Netzarim in the central Gaza Strip, the Hamas-run local health authority said.

Asked by Reuters about the incident, the Israel Defence Force said its troops had fired warning shots at suspected militants who advanced in a crowd toward them.

An Israeli aircraft then “struck and eliminated the suspects,” it said in a statement, adding that it was aware of others being hurt in the incident and was conducting a review.

12 killed in strike on house

Separately, Gazan medics said at least 19 others were killed in other Israeli military strikes across the enclave, including 12 people in a house in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza Strip, bringing Friday’s total death toll to at least 44.

In a statement on Friday, Hamas, which says Israel is using hunger as a weapon against the population of Gaza, accused Israel of systematically targeting Palestinians seeking food aid across the enclave. Israel denies this and accuses Hamas of stealing food aid, which the group denies.

Elder, who was recently in Gaza, said he had many testimonials of women and children injured while trying to receive food aid, including a young boy who was wounded by a tank shell and later died of his injuries.

He said a lack of public clarity on when the sites, some of which are in combat zones, were open was causing mass casualty events.

“There have been instances where information [was] shared that a site is open, but then it’s communicated on social media that they’re closed,” he said. “But that information was shared when Gaza’s internet was down and people had no access to it.”

On Wednesday, the GHF said in a statement it had distributed three million meals across three of its aid sites without an incident.

EARLIER | In March, officials said Palestinians could run out of water: Gaza water plant running on backup power as Israel cuts electricity Duration 4:35 Palestinian officials say people in Gaza could soon run out of clean drinking water. After Israel cut off the electricity supply to Gaza this weekend, a desalination plant in Deir al-Balah has been running at about 30 per cent capacity on backup generators.

The Red Cross told Reuters the “vast majority” of patients that arrived at its Field Hospital during mass casualty incidents had reported that they were wounded while trying to access aid, at or around aid distribution points.

Between May 27 and Thursday, the aid group received 1,874 patients wounded by weapons, according to Red Cross figures.

The war was triggered when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel’s subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed more than 55,700 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, while displacing almost the entire population of more than two million and causing a severe hunger crisis.