Israeli Strikes Kill Eight Children At Water Distribution Point In Gaza; ‘Technical Error’ Says IDF | World News

Last Updated:July 13, 2025, 21:29 IST

Israeli air strikes killed over 40 Palestinians, including at a market and water point, as ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas stalled.

Palestinians sit amid the rubble of a house in the aftermath of an overnight Israeli strike that hit Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on July 13, 2025 (AFP)

The Gaza Civil Defence Agency on Sunday said that the Israeli air strikes killed more than 40 Palestinians, including at a market and a water distribution point, as talks for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas stalled.

After the attack, the Israel Defence Forces issued a statement saying that the killing “technical error”.

For the past week, delegations from Israel and the Palestinian militant group have been engaged in negotiations, aiming to secure a temporary truce to bring an end to the intense 21-month conflict in the Gaza Strip.

However, on Saturday, each side accused the other of obstructing efforts to reach an agreement during indirect talks in Doha, Qatar.

Seven UN agencies issued a joint warning on Saturday, stating that a fuel shortage in Gaza has reached “critical levels,” posing a significant threat to aid operations, hospital care, and exacerbating chronic food insecurity, AFP reported.

According to Civil Defence Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal, at least 43 people were killed in the latest Israeli strikes, including 11 when a market in Gaza City was hit.

Bassal said that eight children were among 10 victims of a drone strike at a water point in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza.

“We woke up to the sound of two large explosions,” Khaled Rayyan told AFP after a house was flattened in Nuseirat. “Our neighbour and his children were under the rubble.”

150 Targets In 24 Hours

The Israeli military remained silent on the matter, but in a separate statement on Sunday, it announced that its fighter jets had “struck more than 150 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip”.

The war was sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that led to 1,219 deaths, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Out of 251 people taken hostage that day, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 that the Israeli military says are dead. Hamas-run Gaza’s health ministry says that at least 58,026 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israel’s military reprisals. The UN considers the figures reliable.

Fears Of Forced Displacement

Talks to agree a 60-day ceasefire in the fighting and hostage release were in the balance on Saturday after Israel and Hamas accused each other of trying to block a deal.

Hamas wants the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, but a Palestinian source with knowledge of the talks said Israel had presented plans to maintain troops in more than 40 per cent of the territory.

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