Mahmoud Abdul Rahman Ahmed recounted that his son, Abdullah, ventured out on Sunday morning with the family’s jerrycans, “searching for a sip of water,” heading to one of the designated water distribution points in the urban Nuseirat camp, located in central Gaza.
“That area was populated by displaced individuals, those exhausted by the ongoing conflict, and those who have endured immense hardship due to the imposed siege, limitations, and relentless aggression,” Mahmoud stated in an interview with a local journalist contributing to the BBC.
He further elaborated, “The children, including Abdullah, stood in line with empty stomachs, empty jerrycans, and parched lips.”
“Moments after the children and other thirsty individuals congregated at the camp, warplanes launched an airstrike on the children and the water distribution point, without any prior warning.”
Graphic video footage, captured by another local journalist and verified by the BBC, documented the immediate aftermath of the Israeli strike on a street in the New Camp area of Nuseirat.
The footage shows a person passing two men carrying young children before encountering a scene of destruction, revealing dozens of yellow plastic jerrycans scattered beneath a collapsed structure.
Amidst the screams of women, bystanders are seen pulling a man from the rubble, while others attempt to aid another man covered in blood. Other adults and children lay motionless nearby.
Al-Awda hospital in Nuseirat reported that the strike resulted in the deaths of 10 individuals, including six children, with an additional 16 people sustaining injuries.
In addition to Abdullah, the hospital identified the deceased children as Badr al-Din Qaraman, Siraj Khaled Ibrahim, Ibrahim Ashraf Abu Urayban, Karam Ashraf al-Ghussein, and Lana Ashraf al-Ghussein.
When questioned about the incident, the Israeli military stated that it had targeted a Palestinian Islamic Jihad “terrorist” but that “as a result of a technical error with the munition, the munition fell dozens of meters from the target.”
The military conveyed that it was “aware of the claim regarding casualties in the area as a result” and “regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians,” adding, “The incident is under review.”
However, Mahmoud alleged that Israel “intended to convey a message: it won’t allow people to drink even the drinking water that they crave.”
He further lamented the unrealized dreams of Abdullah and the other children.
“They were looking at reality with the hope of it changing, and of becoming like the other children of the world – practicing their normal role of playing, moving, traveling, eating, drinking, and living in safety,” he stated.
According to the UN, water shortages in Gaza are intensifying due to the scarcity of fuel and spare parts for desalination, pumping, and sanitation facilities, compounded by insecurity and restricted access resulting from Israeli military operations against Hamas and evacuation directives.
Consequently, many individuals are receiving less than the emergency standard of 15 liters per day, leading to what the UN has termed “a human-made drought crisis.”
“You see children queuing up, by the side of the road, with yellow jerrycans every single morning, waiting for the daily water truck to come and get their five litres [or] 10 litres, of water used for washing, cleaning, cooking, drinking, etc,” Sam Rose, the acting Gaza director for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa), told the BBC.
“Every death is a tragedy. This one is particularly emblematic, given the circumstances in which it took place. But it’s one of many,” he added.
Last Thursday, 10 children and three women were killed as they waited for nutritional supplements outside a clinic in the nearby town of Deir al-Balah.
The Israeli military asserted that it had targeted a Hamas “terrorist” in the vicinity and, mirroring the incident on Sunday, expressed regret for any harm caused to civilians.
“We focus on these incidents, but of course these weren’t the only children killed in Gaza [on Sunday],” Rose said. “Every single day, since the start of the war, on average of classroom full of children have been killed.”
The executive director of the UN children’s agency (Unicef), Catherine Russell, denounced both incidents as “horrific” and called upon Israeli authorities to “urgently review the rules of engagement and ensure full compliance with international humanitarian law.”
The UN Security Council is scheduled to convene later this week to address the situation of children in Gaza, following a request from the UK.
However, Israel’s permanent representative Danny Danon argued that council members would be “better served to apply pressure on Hamas for prolonging this conflict.”
“The children in Gaza are victims of Hamas, not Israel. Hamas is using them as human shields and the UN is silent,” he asserted.
Mahmoud countered that it is Israel which should be compelled to end the war.
“We have no power and no strength. We are victims. We are civilians just like other people in the world, and we don’t own any nuclear weapons or arms or anything,” he added.
“This war needs to stop, and so does the ongoing massacre happening in the Gaza Strip.”
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