Gaza, July 14: Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 30 people on Sunday, including six children at a water collection point, local health officials said, despite attempts by mediators to bring about a ceasefire.Israel and Hamas appeared no closer to a breakthrough in talks meant to pause the 21-month war and free some Israeli hostages. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Washington last week to discuss the deal with the Trump administration, but a new sticking point has emerged over the deployment of Israeli troops during the truce, raising questions over the feasibility of a new deal.
Israel says it will only end the war once Hamas surrenders, disarms and goes into exile, something it refuses to do. Hamas says it is willing to free all the remaining 50 hostages, less than half said to be alive, in exchange for an end to the war and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said Sunday that more than 58,000 people have been killed in the war. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count but says more than half of the dead are women and children. In the Oct 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war, Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people and abducted 251 in a raid on northern Israel.
In central Gaza, officials at Al-Awda Hospital said it received 10 bodies after an Israeli strike on a water collection point in nearby Nuseirat. Among the dead were six children, the hospital said.
Ramadan Nassar, a witness who lives in the area, told The Associated Press that 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.
He said Palestinians walk some 2 kilometres to fetch water from the area.
The Israeli military said it was targeting a militant but that a technical error made its munition fall “dozens of metres from the target.” It said the incident was being examined.
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.
Dr Ahmed Qandil, who specialises in general surgery and laparoscopic, was among those killed, the Gaza Health Ministry said in a statement. One of the ministry’s spokespeople, Zaher al-Wahidi, told the AP that Qandil was on his way to Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital when the strike happened. All bodies and those wounded were taken to Al-Ahli hospital, according to al-Wahidi.
In the central town of Zawaida, an Israeli strike on a home killed nine, including two women and three children, officials at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said.
The military said it was unaware of a strike on the home, but has struck over 150 targets over the past 24 hours, including what it said are weapons storage facilities, missile launchers and sniping posts. Israel blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the militant group operates out of populated areas.