Children Killed in Israeli Strike While Fetching Water in Gaza “Safe Zone”

In Gaza’s al-Mawasi — the very place Israel told Palestinians to go for safety, food, and water — children ended up dead by the fountain they had run to for relief.

Palestinian health officials say at least 13 people, including seven kids, were killed Tuesday when an Israeli strike hit families collecting drinking water. Hours earlier, Israel’s military had publicly promised that al-Mawasi would provide “enhanced services,” including medical care, water, and food.

Instead, video verified by NBC News shows a harrowing scene: bloodied children lying next to water jugs, lifeless bodies carried into Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, and parents clinging to their kids one last time.

“Children were running for the most basic right — water — only to be killed in cold blood,” said Dr. Munir Al-Bursh, Gaza’s health ministry director-general.

The Israeli military initially said it had no record of strikes in the area but later told reporters it was “looking into the matter.”

The attack hit as Israel ramps up for a fresh assault on Gaza City and mobilizes tens of thousands of reservists. Al-Mawasi, once touted as a humanitarian zone, has rapidly filled with tents as families fled south under Israel’s evacuation orders.

Meanwhile, the hunger crisis deepens. Gaza’s health ministry says 367 people — 131 of them children — have already died from starvation, with UN experts accusing Israel of weaponizing thirst by blocking clean water.

Human rights groups, the UN, and even leading genocide scholars have accused Israel of committing genocide. Israel rejects those charges, calling them part of a Hamas-driven narrative.

For families in Gaza, the labels don’t change the reality: children are being killed trying to drink water in the one place they were told was safe.

Al Jazeera, NBC News, CBS News, Reuters, and the New York Times contributed to this report.