The head of UN child rights agency UNICEF called on Monday for Israel to review its rules of engagement in Gaza after seven children were killed while waiting for water at a distribution point.
The incident occurred in central Gaza on Sunday, according to media reports, which said that four other people also lost their lives due to the Israeli airstrike.
The Israeli military said it had been targeting a terrorist but a "technical error" saw the munition stray off course.
Uphold protection of children
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell noted that the incident came just days after several women and children were killed while lining up for nutritional supplies.
"The Israeli authorities must urgently review the rules of engagement and ensure full compliance with international humanitarian law, notably the protection of civilians, including children," she wrote in a statement posted on X.
The UN has repeatedly deplored the killing of Palestinians seeking food aid amid the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where food security experts have warned that the entire population is not getting enough to eat.
Stockpiles of food available
Meanwhile, "truckloads of food and medical supplies are waiting in warehouses" just outside the enclave, UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA said in a tweet .
It included a quote from an UNRWA health worker who said that "in the past, I only saw such cases of malnutrition in textbooks and documentaries. Today, I am treating them face to face in the health centre."
UNRWA appealed for starvation of civilians to stop and for the siege to be lifted.
"Let the UN, including UNRWA, do its lifesaving work," the tweet said.
West Bank annexation 'well underway'
Separately, UNRWA also highlighted the situation of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank against the backdrop of the war in Gaza.
Agency chief Philippe Lazzarini told the Caux Forum in Switzerland on Monday that "annexation is well underway."
UNRWA said "this is not just destruction: it is part of systematic forced displacement, a violation of international law, and a form of collective punishment."
In January, Israeli forces launched operations in Tulkarm and Jenin in the West Bank, which UNRWA has previously said are the most extensive in two decades.
