An Israeli drone attack on Gaza killed two children on Saturday, Palestinian health authorities and the children’s families said.
The attack is the latest in a string of violence which has persisted in the Palestinian enclave despite a shaky ceasefire reached in October.
What do we know about the drone attack which killed 2 boys?
The Reuters news agency cited the children’s uncle as saying the two brothers, Fadi and Goma, were gathering firewood to help their wheelchair-bound father east of southern Gaza’s Khan Younis neighborhood at the time of the attack.
Staff at Nasser Hospital were cited by the Associated Press news agency as saying the drone struck close to a school sheltering displaced people in the town of Beni Suhaila in Khan Younis.
Conflicting reports regarding their age suggested they were between 8 and 12 years old.
“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,” Reuters quoted their uncle Mohamed Abu Assi as saying as their funeral took place.
The children’s father wept over the body of one of his boys as his white shroud was peeled back to reveal his face, Reuters reported.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the killings.
Since the October 10 ceasefire, over 354 Palestinians have been killed in the largely devastated enclave, according to Gazan health authorities. Many of the deaths occur when Israeli forces shoot at Palestinians it accuses of crossing the yellow line set up during the ceasefire to mark territories still under Israel’s control in the strip.
On Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces said their troops “identified two suspects who crossed the yellow line, carried out suspicious activities and approached the troops in southern Gaza, posing an immediate threat,” adding that the troops “eliminated the suspects to remove the threat.”
It was not clear if the post was referring to the two dead boys.
Israel says since the ceasefire, three of its soldiers have been killed by militants’ fire.
Nearly a dozen injured in West Bank settler violence
Meanwhile in the occupied West Bank, 10 Palestinians were injured on Saturday in settler violence, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. Settler attacks in the Khallet al-Louza village near Bethlehem involved beatings and live ammunition.
A woman was hit by fire from a settler’s weapon, the Palestinian Red Crescent said, adding that she was receiving treatment in hospital. Three others were also hospitalized.
The Israeli army confirmed receiving a report regarding what it said was a violent confrontation between Israeli settlers and Palestinians, adding that soldiers and border police were deployed to the area.
Israel started its two-year war on Gaza after a Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023 killed 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and took some 250 more hostage. Palestinian authorities put the death toll of Palestinians in the two years of war at nearly 70,000.
Since the start of the Gaza war, settler violence in the occupied West Bank significantly increased, with rarely any reports of the settlers being held accountable.
On Friday, the United Nations condemned was it described as an “apparent summary execution” of two Palestinian men killed by Israeli border control after they were seen to have surrendered.
Since October 2023, 1,030 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, by fire from Israeli forces and settlers, according to UN figures.
Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.dw.com ’
