KHAN YOUNIS/CAIRO/JERUSALEM: An Israeli attack killed two children in Gaza on Saturday, medics and relatives said, in violence that has persisted in the Palestinian enclave despite a fragile ceasefire.
The children’s uncle said an Israeli drone fired on Fadi and Goma Abu Assi, brothers aged 10 and 12, while they were gathering firewood to help their wheelchair-bound father east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
“They are children...what did they do? They do not have missiles or bombs, they went to gather wood for their father so he can start a fire,” Mohamed Abu Assi told Reuters as their funeral took place.
At the funeral, the children’s father wept over the body of one of the boys whose white shroud had been peeled back to show his face.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
At least 354 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect on October 10, Gazan health authorities say. Israel says three of its soldiers have been killed by militants’ gunfire in that time.
The level of violence has reduced since the ceasefire, but Israel has continued to strike Gaza and conduct demolitions in territory it occupies there.
Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel signed a truce on October 9 after two years of war but left the most intractable disputes for further talks.
Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the ceasefire commitments and of pushing back against later steps required by US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 69,700 Palestinians, most of them civilians, health officials in Gaza say. Much of the territory is in ruins.
Israel began its offensive after a Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 in which 1,200 people were killed and about 250 were taken to Gaza as hostages, according to Israel’s tally.
Israeli attack kills two children in Gaza, medics say
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Israeli attack kills two children in Gaza, medics say
- At least 354 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect on October 10
UN urges all sides to ‘see reason’ in Iran-US conflict
- “I deplore the military strikes across Iran this morning by Israel and the USA, and the subsequent retaliatory strikes by Iran,” Turk said
- “To avert these terrible consequences for civilians, I call for restraint and implore all parties to see reason, to de-escalate”
GENEVA: The United Nations’ rights chief deplored Saturday’s strikes in the Middle East and urged all parties to return to negotiations, saying attacks would only result in “death, destruction and human misery.”
“I deplore the military strikes across Iran this morning by Israel and the United States of America, and the subsequent retaliatory strikes by Iran,” Volker Turk said in a statement.
“As always, in any armed conflict, it is civilians who end up paying the ultimate price.
“Bombs and missiles are not the way to resolve differences but only result in death, destruction and human misery.
“To avert these terrible consequences for civilians, I call for restraint and implore all parties to see reason, to de-escalate, and for a return to the negotiating table where they had been actively seeking a solution only hours earlier,” he said.
“Failing to do so risks an even wider conflict, that will inevitably lead to further senseless civilian deaths and destruction on a potentially unimaginable scale, not just in Iran but across the Middle East region.”
On Thursday, US and Iranian negotiators held indirect talks in Geneva, through Omani mediators, on Tehran’s nuclear program — within sight of Turk’s offices in the Swiss city.
He reminded all parties that the protection of civilians was paramount in armed conflict, insisting that those who violated the rules of war must be held accountable.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, said the agency was concerned by the “grave risk to people’s health” from the expanding conflict.
“The threat of nuclear facilities being impacted is especially worrying,” he said.
“All must be done to reduce any nuclear safety risk, which may affect people in the region,” he added.
“We urge leaders to choose the challenging path of dialogue over the senseless route of destruction.”
