Gaza: UNICEF mourns seven children killed queuing for water

The incident occurred in central Gaza on Sunday, according to media reports, which said that four other people also lost their lives due to the Israeli airstrike. 

The Israeli military said it had been targeting a terrorist but a “technical error” saw the munition stray off course.

Uphold protection of children

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell noted that the incident came just days after several women and children were killed while lining up for nutritional supplies.

“The Israeli authorities must urgently review the rules of engagement and ensure full compliance with international humanitarian law, notably the protection of civilians, including children,” she wrote in a statement posted on X.

The UN has repeatedly deplored the killing of Palestinians seeking food aid amid the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where food security experts have warned that the entire population is not getting enough to eat.

Stockpiles of food available

Meanwhile, “truckloads of food and medical supplies are waiting in warehouses” just outside the enclave, UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA said in a tweet.

It included a quote from one of its health workers who said that “in the past, I only saw such cases of malnutrition in textbooks and documentaries.  Today, I am treating them face to face in the health centre.”

UNRWA appealed for starvation of civilians to stop and for the siege to be lifted.  

“Let the UN, including UNRWA, do its lifesaving work,” the tweet said.

West Bank annexation ‘well underway’

Separately, UNRWA also highlighted the situation of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank against the backdrop of the war in Gaza.

Agency chief Philippe Lazzarini told an international conference in Switzerland on Monday that “annexation is well underway.”

UNRWA said “this is not just destruction: it is part of systematic forced displacement, a violation of international law, and a form of collective punishment.”

In January, Israeli forces launched operations in Tulkarm and Jenin in the West Bank, which UNRWA has previously said are the most extensive in two decades.

Humanitarians reported last week that the operations are causing massive destruction and displacement while attacks by Israeli settlers have intensified.