Two Palestinian boys were killed in an Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip while collecting firewood, according to their families.
The boys were cousins: Mohammad al-Zawarah and Suleiman al-Zawarah. Muhammad was 14 years old. According to hospital authorities, Suleiman was one year younger.
They were killed on Saturday morning and their bodies were taken to Al Shifa Hospital. The video showed the distraught father of one of the boys cradling the body in his arms.
The two children and their families live in northern Gaza. His uncle, Salman al-Zawara, told CNN the boys were close friends.
“They were full of life and joy and wanted to help their parents, so they went out to collect firewood for cooking and to keep their families warm during this harsh winter,” Al-Zawarah told CNN on Sunday.
The Israeli military confirmed to CNN on Sunday that “military forces operating in the northern Gaza Strip have identified several terrorists who have crossed the Yellow Line, placed explosive devices in the area, approached the military, and pose an immediate threat.”
It was said to be the same incident in which the boys were killed. However, military officials offered no evidence and insisted that “they were not children.”
The boys’ uncle claimed that they were far from the Yellow Line and “close to the entrance to Kamal Adwan Hospital. What the occupation forces say is a lie. These are innocent children they killed in cold blood.”
In parts of Gaza, the yellow line is not clearly drawn or marked.
This is not the first time children have been killed while searching for firewood in Gaza.
Fadi and Jumaa Abu Assi, ages 8 and 10, went out to collect firewood for their disabled father in November. They were killed in a drone attack.
In a statement, the Israeli military confirmed the airstrike and called the children “two suspects who crossed the yellow line, engaged in suspicious activity on the ground, approached IDF forces operating in the southern Gaza Strip, and posed an immediate threat.”
The Palestinian Health Ministry said on Sunday that three people had been killed in Israeli military operations in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll since the ceasefire took effect in October to 484.
According to the newspaper, the cumulative number of deaths in the Gaza Strip since October 2023 is 71,657. The ministry does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its data.
At least 11 Palestinians were killed in a series of attacks last Wednesday, according to the UN human rights group in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).
The report said there was a “wider pattern of post-ceasefire violence and the lasting effects of two years of devastation”.
Among those killed were three Palestinian journalists working for the Egyptian Rescue Committee (ERC) near the Netzarim district in central Gaza.
OPT announced that the three killings bring the number of journalists killed in Israeli attacks since October 2023 to 292.
“All vehicles belonging to the Egyptian Commission bear the logo of the Egyptian Commission, even though they were targeted by Israeli aircraft,” commission spokesman Mohamed Mansour told CNN. He said journalists were filming the scene “on a daily basis.”
The Egyptian Relief Committee is a state-run humanitarian organization operating in Gaza with Israeli permission “to support the Palestinian people during the ongoing crisis,” according to its website.
At the time, the Israel Defense Forces said its forces had identified “multiple suspects” operating drones it said were affiliated with Hamas in central Gaza “in a manner that threatened security.” The IDF later said it carried out the attack “in accordance with necessary chain of command approvals.”
The incident is “under investigation,” the IDF said.
The military did not provide any evidence linking the drone to Hamas or explain what threat it posed to Israeli forces. On Tuesday, the day before the attack, the Egyptian Relief Committee posted several videos on social media, apparently shot by a drone, showing a tent encampment near where the journalists were killed.
According to OPT, three incidents occurred near the Yellow Line on the same day, and two 13-year-old boys were among the dead.
“Israel’s repeated military operations in areas west of the Relocation Line have also led to the displacement of civilians and the demolition of residential buildings in those areas,” the OPT said.
OPT also said there have been at least 80 reported killings of Palestinians by Hamas since the ceasefire, most of them in clashes with rival families or summary executions.
“People are dying every day as a result of Israeli attacks and Israel’s continued restrictions on access to humanitarian aid, especially in shelters, with deaths occurring in the cold or under collapsed buildings,” said Ajis Sungay, OPT’s UN human rights chief.
The Israeli agency in charge of granting aid to Gaza rejected the UN’s claim that nearly 80% of the population faces starvation, describing it as “an attempt to recycle false and misleading claims for political and economic reasons.”
Government agency Coordinator for Regional Government Activities (COGAT) said between 600 and 800 trucks, mainly carrying food, enter the Gaza Strip every day.
