IRIA News

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At least 90 Palestinian civilians were killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza on Sunday, while 100 were killed on Saturday as Israeli forces targeted homes, camps, and aid sites. Six children were killed by Israeli soldiers while collecting water in the Nuseirat refugee camp.

Medical sources and local witnesses confirmed that the attacks targeted already vulnerable civilians trying to access necessities amid a deepening humanitarian catastrophe. The victims at Nuseirat were part of a group of at least 10 Palestinians killed at the site, with 16 others wounded.

Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said that the attack on children was a technical mistake. The IDF said in a statement that they intended to target militants but due to a “technical error with the munition” the missile fell “dozens of meters from the target” killing civilians and children.

The assault came as part of a broader escalation by Israeli forces, which, according to local sources, are attempting to confine the remaining population of Gaza into a southern “concentration zone,” forcing a mass displacement that has already uprooted nearly all of Gaza’s more than 2 million residents at least once since the war began in October 2023.

There is a severe water crisis across the Gaza Strip. Most of the available water is contaminated and not safe for drinking, but extreme thirst continues to drive people to water collection points. In recent months, there have been nearly ten incidents where people were directly and deliberately targeted while trying to get water.

Attacks on aid distribution points

Saturday’s toll was equally grim, with at least 110 Palestinians killed, including 34 people who were waiting for food parcels at an aid site operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in Rafah. The GHF, which operates under U.S. and Israeli oversight, has assumed near-total control over food distribution since May, sidelining longstanding humanitarian organizations such as the United Nations and various non-governmental aid agencies.

Around 800 people have been killed in incidents related to the GHF food distribution. While families are allowed to collect a single food parcel, it is far from enough to meet the needs of starving children and other family members, highlighting the scale of the ongoing crisis.

Gazans must make harsh and long journeys in scorching heat, sometimes walking over 12 kilometers from northern areas to reach distribution points in Rafah. Many sleep in bombed-out buildings and streets along the way to arrive early. Despite all these efforts, the food collectors are met with live bullets and firing squads upon reaching the food distribution points.

Children dying of hunger

According to Gaza’s Government Media Office, at least 67 children have died of hunger since October. The dire humanitarian conditions are resulting from the Israeli blockade, which has severely limited access to food, water, and medical aid.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) recently warned of a surge in malnutrition cases, particularly among children, since the start of the siege. “UNRWA hasn’t been allowed to bring in any humanitarian aid since March,” the agency said, highlighting the blockade’s impact as it enters its 103rd day.

In #Gaza, children queue for water trucks that often never arrive.
Instead of going to school or playing like children should, they are waiting in the sun.

This is childhood in Gaza.

Over 90% of families lack safe drinking water as fuel shortages cripple water systems.

Lift… pic.twitter.com/BCMdkdVDpC

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) July 9, 2025

Ongoing airstrikes and displacement

The weekend’s strikes continued into Sunday, with a barrage of air attacks across multiple areas of the Gaza Strip:

• In the Al Sawarkah area west of the Nuseirat camp, an Israeli warplane struck a house, killing 10 people.
• In the Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City, six people were killed and others injured by an airstrike.
• Another five people were killed in a separate strike on Hamid Street in western Gaza City.
• In the Al Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City, a young girl and another person were killed when a house was bombed.
• Three people were confirmed dead following a strike on a displacement tent in Al Mawasi, west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
• Israeli forces also destroyed several residential buildings in the Tuffah neighborhood of eastern Gaza City.

These latest attacks are part of the intensifying campaign being waged by the Israeli military, even as ceasefire talks remain at an impasse. Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Qatar have failed to yield progress, with both sides blaming each other for the stalemate.

International legal pressure mounts

Israel’s military campaign, which began on October 7, 2023, has now entered its 21st month. More than 58,000 Palestinians have been killed so far, according to local health authorities, with women and children comprising most of the dead. Thousands more remain missing o buried under rubble.

The humanitarian crisis has prompted international legal actions. In November 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza.

Additionally, South Africa has brought a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing the country of genocide. The proceedings have further strained Israel’s diplomatic relations with several countries, even as major Western powers continue to provide political and military support to Tel Aviv.

As the siege continues and humanitarian conditions deteriorate further, the population in Gaza faces a grim future. The combination of targeted airstrikes on civilian infrastructure, restricted aid access, and widespread hunger has created what many human rights organizations are calling an “engineered famine.”

Hospitals are overwhelmed, and many have ceased operations due to a lack of fuel and medical supplies. Displacement camps are overflowing, and clean water has become virtually inaccessible to large segments of the population.

Despite mounting international pressure, Israel has continued its military operations, framing them as necessary to eliminate Hamas and other armed groups. However, critics argue that the scale and nature of the campaign reflect a broader intent to dismantle Palestinian society and permanently displace its people.