Israeli forces have continued to pound Gaza, striking a busy market and a water distribution point, killing at least 95 Palestinians, as the death toll from Israel’s war on the enclave passed the grim milestone of 58,000.
The Israeli attack on the Gaza City market killed at least 17 people on Sunday, including prominent doctor Ahmed Qandil, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
In the central Nuseirat refugee camp, an Israeli missile attack struck a water collection point, killing at least 10 people.
Seven of the victims were children who had queued up to collect drinking water, according to medical sources. At least 17 others were also wounded.
The Israeli military is yet to comment on the Gaza City market strike, but said its attack on Nuseirat was aimed at a Palestinian fighter and had veered off course due to technical failure.
The Israeli claim could not be independently verified.
Jessica Dorsey, an international lawyer and an assistant professor at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, questioned Israel’s claim, saying the Israeli military does not take adequate measures to protect civilians in Gaza.
“Mistakes do happen in war, but at a certain point, given the pattern of civilian harm that we’ve seen over the last 21 months, you have to question calling this a mistake, and in fact, actually interrogate whether this is indeed their modus operandi,” she told Al Jazeera.
“Especially with this kind of advanced capability that they possess, we should be seeing more precision, not less responsibility, and unfortunately that’s not the case,” she added.
‘Child survival emergency’
The Palestinian Ministry of Health meanwhile said on Sunday that the overall confirmed death toll from Israel’s war has now risen to 58,026 people. More than half of those killed since the war began on October 7, 2023, have been women and children.
The ministry said at least 138,500 others have also been wounded.
The war and Israel’s siege have also left 2.1 million people in Gaza on the brink of famine, with the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, announcing the death of another infant from malnutrition.
The seven-month-old girl, Salam, died while being treated by UNRWA staff on Sunday, the agency said. The latest death came a day after authorities in Gaza said at least 67 children had already died of malnutrition since Israel’s war began.
The UN’s children’s agency, UNICEF, meanwhile, said that more than 5,800 children were diagnosed with malnutrition in Gaza in June, including more than 1,000 children in severe condition. The figure marks an increase for the fourth month in a row, the agency said in a post on X.
“Children’s bodies are wasting away. This is not just a nutrition crisis. It’s a child survival emergency,” the group added.
A charity organisation distributes meals to hungry Palestinians [Hassan Jedi/Anadolu]
UNICEF and seven other UN agencies also issued a separate joint statement,