At least eight Palestinians, most of them children, were killed and more than a dozen were wounded in central Gaza when they went to collect water on Sunday, local officials said, in an Israeli strike which the military said missed its intended target.

The Israeli military said the missile was meant to hit an Islamic Jihad militant in the area, but a malfunction had caused it to fall "dozens of meters from the target."

"The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians," it said in a statement, adding that the incident was under review.

The strike hit a water distribution point in Nuseirat refugee camp, killing six children and injuring 17 others, said Ahmed Abu Saifan, an emergency physician at Al-Awda Hospital.

Water shortages in Gaza have worsened sharply in recent weeks, with fuel shortages causing desalination and sanitation facilities to close, making people dependent on collection centers where they can fill up their plastic containers.

The Gaza Health Ministry said on Sunday that more than 58,000 people had been killed since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023, with 139 people added to the death toll over the past 24 hours.

Ceasefire?

While Israel continues its military operation in Gaza, indirect talks over a U.S. proposal for a 60-day ceasefire are being held in Doha. However, optimism that surfaced last week over a possible deal has largely faded, with both sides accusing each other of intransigence.

Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad said on Sunday that the ongoing indirect negotiations with Israel must lead to an end to the war, a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the opening of the crossings, and reconstruction, according to a statement released by Hamas.

The indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas in the Qatari capital Doha are entering a "critical and complex phase," according to a Hamas source, who warned that Israel's "intransigence" could lead to the collapse of the talks.

The Hamas source said the two delegations had reviewed the Israeli responses, noting that the main obstacle to progress lies in Israel's "intransigence regarding the withdrawal maps."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to convene ministers late on Sunday to discuss the latest developments in the talks, an Israeli official said.

Netanyahu, in a video he posted on Telegram on Sunday, said Israel would not back down from its core demands – releasing all the hostages still in Gaza, destroying Hamas, and ensuring Gaza will never again be a threat to Israel.

Netanyahu and his ministers were also set to discuss a plan on Sunday to move hundreds of thousands of Gazans to the southern area of Rafah, in what Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has described as a new "humanitarian city," but which would likely draw international criticism for forced displacement.

However, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday that talks are ongoing over Israel's conflict in Gaza and that he hopes for progress in the next week, even as ceasefire negotiations in Doha stalled.

"Gaza – we are talking and hopefully we're going to get that straightened out over the next week," Trump said, echoing similarly optimistic comments he made on July 4.

(With input from agencies)