Israel military blames 'technical error' for airstrike that killed 6 Palestinian children collecting water

10 people were killed in the airstrike and another 17 were injured.

July 14, 2025, 01:58 PM

While collecting water on Jul. 13, ten Palestinians were killed and more than a dozen others were injured in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, BBC reported.

Six children were among the casualties.

Airstrike

According to BBC, eyewitnesses reportedly saw a missile fired by a drone into a crowd that was queueing up with jerry cans to collect water from a water distribution point in al-Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza.

The aftermath of the strike saw injured people, including children, lying on the ground among yellow jerry cans while onlookers rushed to help.

Ten people died at the scene, and their bodies were sent to Nuseirat's al-Awda Hospital.

17 others, including seven children, were injured from the strike and also sent to the same hospital to be treated, Reuters said.

IDF claims "technical error"

The Israeli military claimed that the missile used on the civilians at the water tanker had originally targeted an Islamic Jihad "terrorist" in the area, according to Reuters.

A technical malfunction had caused the missile to land "dozens of metres from the target" and on the crowd, they said, adding that the incident is under review.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) also acknowledged the "claim regarding casualties in the area", saying that it aims to mitigate civilian casualties "as much as possible" and "regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians", BBC reported.

Long-drawn war

Reuters reported that water shortages have become increasingly problematic.

Fuel shortages have also reportedly caused desalination and sanitation facilities to close, forcing people to collect water from collection centres.

Talks of a ceasefire have come up in recent weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on Jul. 1 that Israel has agreed to a 60-day ceasefire proposed by Qatar.

He also warned Hamas to accept the proposal, or face harsh consequences.

Hamas, however, has stopped short of agreeing to the proposal unless their condition of a complete end to the war is met.

Indirect negotiations between both parties are currently underway in Doha, Qatar, Reuters said.