Israel blames ‘technical error' for missile which killed six children in Gaza
Witnesses said a drone fired a missile at a crowd of families queuing with empty jerry cans next to a water tanker in al-Nuseirat refugee camp.
Ten people were killed with a further seven children and nine adults requiring treatment at the Al-Awda Hospital.
Locals rushed to the scene and carried the injured away in the back of trucks and on donkey carts.
The Israeli military said it was targeting a militant but that a technical error made its munition fall 'dozens of metres from the target.'
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it was aware of the 'claim regarding casualties in the area as a result', adding that it works to mitigate civilian harm 'as much as possible' and ' regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians '.
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.
Among those killed was surgeon Dr Ahmed Qandil, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry. He was on his way to work at the Al Ali Arab Baptist Hospital, which also took the casualties and dead from the strike.
In the central town of Zawaida, an Israeli strike on a home killed nine others including two women and three children, officials at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said.
The Israeli military said it was unaware of a strike on the home but has struck more than 150 targets over the past 24 hours, including what it said were weapons storage facilities, missile launchers and sniping posts.
Israel says terror group Hamas has embedded its terror infrastructure in civilian areas and in safe zones, in addition to hijacking aid sites. The Hamas-run health ministry said more than 58,000 people have died in Gaza during the war, but it does not differentiate between combatants and civilians.
Israel says more than 21,000 militants have been killed since the start of the war, sparked by the Oct 7, 2023 Hamas invasion of southern Israel in which around 1,200 mostly civilians were killed and 251 taken hostage
Ceasefire talks amid the 21-month war are still stalling. A new deal hoped to bring back some of the remaining 50 Israeli hostages in Gaza, and pause the war which has seen swathes of Gaza razed and two-thirds of its population displaced.
While Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, was in Washington last week to meet with President Donald Trump to discuss a possible ceasefire deal, there have been clashes on both sides including Israel's insistence on keeping a military presence in the strip during the truce, which Hamas will not agree to.
Israel says that it will only end the war once Hamas is removed from power and disarmed and the 50 hostages, only half of whom are believed to be alive, freed.
In the occupied West Bank, the funeral of Palestinian-American Sayfollah Musallet, 20, who was killed in an attack by Israeli settlers this weekend, took place on Sunday.
Violence has soared in the territory since the Gaza war as tensions between Israeli settlers and Arabs rise, and all work permits of tens of thousands of Palestinians coming to Israel have been revoked.
The Palestinian health ministry said Musallet, a Florida native, was killed after being beaten by Israeli settlers. Seifeddine Musalat, 23, was also killed in the attack and Mohammed al-Shalabi, was shot in the chest.
On Sunday their bodies were carried through the streets of Al-Mazraa a-Sharqiya.
On Saturday, Mr Musallet's family said they want the US State Department to investigate his death and hold the settlers accountable.
Israel's military said Palestinians hurled rocks at Israelis in the area on Friday, lightly wounding two people and setting off a larger confrontation. Palestinians and rights groups have long accused the military of ignoring settler violence.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
32 minutes ago
- The Independent
Striking doctors have badly misjudged the mood of the nation
The most crucial statistic relating to the current threat by resident (formerly 'junior') doctors to go on strike is derived not from the inflation indices, or even the pitiful state of the UK public finances, but from the latest readings of public opinion. In a dramatic shift from where it stood during those long-running disputes under the Conservatives, when the medics were cheered on even by disappointed patients, support for their cause has collapsed. A year ago, some 52 per cent of the public felt that strike action was justified. Now that figure has exactly halved, to a mere 26 per cent. Without the backing of public sentiment, or the political pressure it brings to bear, it is much less likely that the doctors will win this time round. Nor, despite widespread sympathy for their complaints, do they deserve to. The doctors, or rather their representatives at the British Medical Association, have badly misjudged the mood of the public. Since the general election, resident doctors have seen their wages rise by much more than most other working people, and – in the case of the award they won shortly after Labour came to power – with few (if any) commitments to improving productivity. The newly installed chancellor, Rachel Reeves, wanted the strikes over and done with quickly because of the damage they were doing to the NHS and the wider economy. So did the public. The government did the right thing in immediately honouring the recommendations of the independent pay review body, though they should have insisted that progress be made on productivity. Instead, they hoped that the BMA would join them in rebuilding and reforming the NHS to make it once again an institution that people could rely on and the country could be proud of. Now, the five-day strike scheduled for the end of July – with no doubt more to follow – puts all of that in jeopardy. All the signs are that the health secretary, Wes Streeting, will resist the pay demands – and he is right to do so. The pay of doctors in the NHS – as with other groups providing a vital public service, such as the police and the civil service – should be insulated from politics and determined by the independent bodies tasked with deciding a fair settlement, taking all the factors into account, including affordability. This has been done, and will be done again. The BMA always submits its own evidence and arguments, and these are fully accounted for. The whole process is designed to avoid the kind of damaging industrial action that is now about to take place. Mr Streeting is being pragmatic and sensitive in agreeing to hold direct talks with BMA representatives, but he is under no obligation to submit to their demands. He has a duty to protect the patient and the taxpayer, too. What is too little noticed is just how arbitrary the central demand of the BMA is. The doctors want their pay to be further boosted such that it regains the real value that prevailed in 2008, as determined by the movement in the retail prices index – so by around 29 per cent. Other indices suggest a lower adjustment, but that's beside the point. Not only does this 'non-negotiable' figure look outlandish to people who are struggling with the cost of living crisis, many of whom have no hope of ever earning as much as a doctor, let alone a consultant; it is also illogical. There is nothing special about 2008, except that – as the resident doctors (fairly) point out – it was when their salaries began to decline in real terms. Well, that broadly applies to many other jobs, albeit some more than others, in reference to various points in the past. But there is no law, of man or of nature, that can guarantee a given level of income for any group in perpetuity – and certainly not in a dynamic economy. It is absurd. For reasons that are sometimes obscure, productivity and real wage growth in the UK – and to some extent across other advanced economies – have generally stagnated since the global financial crisis of 2008. Doctors are not alone in experiencing a painful squeeze, and in fact, many have suffered more – including nurses. The doctors seem very out of touch with their public. They thereby risk losing the very thing they profess to love – the National Health Service itself – by making it look unreformable, unsustainable, and unworkable. If Labour can't rescue the NHS from its own staff, who can? Politically, the voters will conclude that Sir Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves and Wes Streeting are no more able to fix it than were Rishi Sunak, Jeremy Hunt and Victoria Atkins. They will simply note that the endless strikes are back, as the waiting lists once again begin to grow longer. The electorate may then be more ready to listen to radical siren calls from Nigel Farage for the NHS to be dismantled. If the public finally lose faith in it, and the health service ends up privatised, then the doctors' world will change radically – and not necessarily to suit their own interests.
The Independent
37 minutes ago
- The Independent
‘Unconscionable' for doctors not to tell their employers if they plan to strike, Streeting warns
Wes Streeting has accused the British Medical Association (BMA) of acting in an 'unconscionable' way after the union told junior doctors they do not inform their employers if they are planning to strike next week. The health secretary described the advice as 'shockingly irresponsible', adding he "cannot fathom" why any doctor would make it more difficult for managers to ensure Resident doctors in England, as junior doctors are now known, are set to strike for five days from 7am on 25 July as part of a pay dispute with the government. Leading doctors have warned the 'highly dangerous' industrial action risks harming the public's trust in the profession. But the new leader of the BMA has said that the doctors' 29 per cent pay demand is 'non-negotiable' and that strikes could go on for years. On Monday, the union said strikes will still go ahead even if a health warning is issued over rising temperatures next week. Senior BMA leaders posted messages on social media over the weekend to tell doctors they do not have to alert their NHS trust if they are planning to strike, sparking fears over patient safety. On X, Dr Ross Nieuwoudt, co-leader of the BMA's resident doctors committee, wrote: 'You do NOT have a legal responsibility to disclose whether you are striking.' Mr Streeting told MPs: "Their leaders seem to be telling their members not to inform their trusts or their employers if they're going out on strike. "Now, I might not agree with the BMA strike action, but I do accept they have a right to strike… What I cannot fathom is how any doctor in good conscience would make it harder for managers to make sure we have safe staffing levels.' Failing to inform hospitals would also 'make it harder for other staff who are going to be turning up to work that day… many of whom are paid less than resident doctors'. He said that the BMA's approach 'from start to finish has been completely wrong." The 'idea that doctors would go on strike without informing their employer… I think is unconscionable,' he said, as he urged resident doctors to 'do the right thing'. The health secretary is due to meet with the BMA this week in hopes of averting the strikes. He told the committee, 'There is no more room for manoeuvre on pay', but said there are other things the government can and should do to improve working conditions. However, he added: 'These things are always choices and trade-offs, lots of things resident doctors are asking for in terms of doctor unemployment, or progression into speciality posts, both of which I agree with them on, cost money. 'Many of the other things we want to do in the NHS cost money, and that's why, having received a 28.9 pay increase, it is not only unreasonable and unnecessary, it is also self defeating, because it will come at a cost at the things we want to invest in to improve the NHS...I think it would be a catastrophic mistake to throw it all out by going on strike.' When asked about the impact of strikes, he said the impact could be 'mitigated' but that he could not promise there would be no consequences or delays for patients. He said: 'I have a relative in that position. My family are currently dreading what I fear is an inevitable phone call saying that there is going to be a delay to this procedure and I just think this is an unconscionable thing to do to the public, not least given the 28.9 per cent pay rise.' Jim Mackey, chief executive for NHS England, also warned of the disruption to patients. He told the committee, 'I lived through this as a trust chief executive. I reiterate what the secretary of state said, everybody respects the right to strike, but this is hugely disruptive, much more than we've been able to we hope this is avoidable, but we can't allow it to play out like it did last time.' Mr Mackey also warned that beyond NHS waiting lists, there will be disruption to other services, which 'we must avoid at all costs.'
Glasgow Times
an hour ago
- Glasgow Times
Israeli strikes kill 30 in Gaza, health officials say
The Israeli military meanwhile said it killed a senior Hamas militant last month who had held a hostage in his home. The 21-month war triggered by Hamas' October 7 attack is raging on after two days of talks between US president Donald Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ended last week with no sign of a breakthrough in negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage release. Twelve people were killed by strikes in southern Gaza, including three who were waiting at an aid distribution point, according to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, which received the bodies. Shifa Hospital in Gaza City also received 12 bodies, including three children and two women, after a series of strikes in the north, according to the hospital's director, Dr Mohammed Abu Selmia. Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza reported six killed and eight wounded in strikes in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp. The Israeli military says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas. The military said a June 19 strike killed Muhammad Nasr Ali Quneita, who it said had taken part in the October 7 attack and held hostage Emily Damari, a dual Israeli-British citizen, in his home at the start of the war. There was no comment from Hamas nor independent confirmation. Thousands of Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel that day, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 people, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. The militants are still holding 50 hostages, less than half of them believed to be alive. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half of the dead. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its tally. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and is led by medical professionals. The United Nations and other experts consider its figures to be the most reliable count of war casualties. Israel's air and ground war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and driven some 90% of the population from their homes. Aid groups say they have struggled to bring in food and other assistance because of Israeli military restrictions and the breakdown of law and order, and experts have warned of famine.
