UPDATE – Save the Children fears children may be among casualties in latest attacks on Gaza

CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE; ADDS STATEMENTS FROM OTHER NGOS

By Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA (AA) – Save the Children feared on Friday that children may be among the casualties in the latest attacks on Gaza.

”We're appalled by reports that ambulances were hit at the entrance of Al-Shifa hospital in #Gaza where critically ill patients were sheltering. Children are presumed to be among the dead,” the NGO's country director Jason Lee said, according to a post on X.

He also called for an immediate cease-fire.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies on Friday deplored the attacks on ambulances in the Gaza Strip.

The horrific and shocking images of the attacks on patients and ambulances close to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza reminded "me (of) the Markale market shelling in Sarajevo," President Francesco Rocca wrote on X.

"These scenes are unacceptable! Civilians, ambulances, doctors, hospitals must be protected. Always," he denounced.

The UK-based charity Oxfam also issued a statement, noting: “Two million people now squeezed into the southern part of Gaza are also facing an unsafe, chaotic and uncertain situation, with insufficient water, food, medicines and fuel.”

"Israel's decision to deprive civilians in Gaza of items essential to their survival, such as food, water, fuel, medicines, and other aid, amounts to collective punishment and a violation of international humanitarian law," the NGO stressed.

Thirteen Palestinians were killed and 26 others injured in an Israeli bombing earlier on Friday that targeted ambulances in front of the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, according to the enclave's Health Ministry.

The Israeli army has widened its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip, which has been under relentless airstrikes since the surprise offensive by Hamas on Oct. 7.

Nearly 10,800 people have been killed in the conflict, including at least 9,240 Palestinians and more than 1,538 Israelis.

Besides the large number of casualties and displacement, basic supplies are running low for Gaza's 2.3 million residents due to the Israeli siege.