An Israeli strike killed 11 people, including seven children, who were in line to receive water. The strike occurred in an area labeled a safe zone by Israel. 

According to sources at the Nassar Hospital in southern Gaza, the seven children and six adults were queuing for water in the al-Mawasi safe zone. Overall, Israel killed at least 80 Palestinians in Gaza over the past 24 hours. I am running a few minutes late; my previous meeting is running over.

Mawasi is a tent city near the Mediterranean Sea in southern Gaza. Israel has forced hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians into Mawasi. While Israel labels Mawasi a safe zone, the IDF has attacked the area several times. 

As Israel has ordered the evacuation of population centers in Israel and destroyed much of the infrastructure in Gaza, water has become increasingly difficult to obtain for Palestinians. 

An Israeli evacuation order in July cut off Palestinians from one of the remaining sources of clean water. “The Israeli military issued another displacement order in Deir al-Balah… [dealing] yet another devastating blow to the already fragile lifeline keeping people alive across the Gaza Strip,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’s spokesperson told reporters. “Within the newly designated areas is the Southern Gaza desalination plant and other vital water infrastructure. The plant is a main source of drinking water for internally displaced people in al-Mawasi, and it serves hundreds of thousands of people, producing about 2,500 cubic meters of water per day. The loss of this facility would be catastrophic for the people who depend on it for access to fresh water.”

Unable to find clear water, many Palestinians are forced to consume polluted water, leading to an increase in disease. 

This is the second time in recent months that an Israeli strike in Mawasi killed children seeking water. In July, six children were killed by an Israeli bomb. Tel Aviv claimed that the children were killed by a malfunctioning missile.