Israeli missile kills eight children collecting water in Gaza as ceasefire talks stall
The Israeli military stated that the strike was aimed at an Islamic Jihad militant in the area, but due to a malfunction, the missile landed "dozens of meters" away from its target, Reuters reported.
"The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians," it said in a statement, adding that the incident was under review.
The strike hit a water distribution point in Nuseirat refugee camp, killing six children and injuring 17 others, said Ahmed Abu Saifan, an emergency physician at Al-Awda Hospital.
Water shortages in Gaza have worsened sharply in recent weeks, with fuel shortages causing desalination and sanitation facilities to close, making people dependent on collection centres where they can fill up their plastic containers.
Hours later, 12 people were killed by an Israeli strike on a market in Gaza City, including a prominent hospital consultant, Ahmad Qandil, Palestinian media reported. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack.
Gaza's health ministry said on Sunday that more than 58,000 people had been killed since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023, with 139 people added to the death toll over the past 24 hours.
The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and fighters in its tally, but says over half of those killed are women and children.
U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that he was 'hopeful' that Gaza ceasefire negotiations were underway in Qatar.
He told reporters in Teterboro, New Jersey, that he planned to meet senior Qatari officials on the sidelines of the FIFA Club World Cup final.
However, negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire have been stalling, with the two sides divided over the extent of an eventual Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave, Palestinian and Israeli sources told Reuters at the weekend.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to convene ministers late on Sunday to discuss the latest developments in the talks, an Israeli official said.
The indirect talks over a U.S. proposal for a 60-day ceasefire are being held in Doha, but optimism that surfaced last week of a looming deal has largely faded, with both sides accusing each other of intransigence.
Netanyahu in a video he posted on Telegram on Sunday said Israel would not back down from its core demands - releasing all the hostages still in Gaza, destroying Hamas and ensuring Gaza will never again be a threat to Israel.
The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages into Gaza. At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages are believed to still be alive. Families of hostages gathered outside Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem to call for a deal.
Earlier on Saturday, a Palestinian source involved in the truce negotiations told Reuters that Hamas rejected Israeli-proposed withdrawal maps, as they would leave approximately 40% of Gaza including the entire city of Rafah under Israeli control.
Israel's ongoing military campaign against Hamas has displaced nearly the entire population of over 2 million people in Gaza, with residents reporting that there are no truly safe areas left within the enclave.
In the early hours of Sunday, a missile struck a house in Gaza City where a family had relocated after being ordered to evacuate from their home in the southern outskirts.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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