Allegations of indiscriminate killings by Israeli forces against civilians in a Gaza corridor, including children, have surfaced in a recent report published by Israeli media Haaretz.

Based on its testimonies with active soldiers, reservists and career officers, it found that hundreds of Palestinians, which include children, have been indiscriminately shot dead by forces who served along the Nitzarim axis, a corridor in central Gaza.

The Netzarim corridor is a wide strip of land stretching 7km long from near Kibbutz Be'eri to the Mediterranean coast.

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The report mentioned that while Palestinians are officially prohibited from entering the corridor, the reality “is more severe than a simple exclusion zone”. A senior officer in Division 252, who has served three reserve rotations in Gaza, claimed that the division commander designated this area as a “kill zone”, meaning anyone who enters is shot.

Another interview with a recently discharged Division 252 officer had described the arbitrary nature of this boundary. According to him, for the division, the kill zone extended “as far as a sniper can see”, but that the issue “goes beyond geography”.

"We're killing civilians there who are then counted as terrorists," he was quoted as saying by Haaretz.

"The IDF spokesperson's announcements about casualty numbers have turned this into a competition between units. If Division 99 kills 150 people, the next unit aims for 200," he added.

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Early on Dec 26, an Israeli strike killed five Palestinian journalists outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip overnight, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

The strike hit a car outside the Al-Awda Hospital in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in the central part of the territory. The journalists were working for the local Quds News Network.

The Israeli military said it targeted a group of fighters from Islamic Jihad, a militant group allied with Hamas, whose Oct 7, 2023 attack into southern Israel ignited the war. Associated Press footage showed the incinerated shell of a van, with “Press” markings still visible on the back doors.

Media organizations had already declared earlier this month that Palestine is the most dangerous country for journalists, citing records of higher death toll -- between 146 to over 205 -- than any other country over the past five years.

Also, according to the United Nations, Gaza is currently the most dangerous place for aid workers in the world. UNICEF had declared in December last year that Gaza is “the world’s most dangerous place to be a child” and that it had become a “graveyard for thousands of children”.

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An update from the head of the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, revealed that more than 14,500 youngsters have been reportedly killed in Gaza. Many thousands more are believed buried under the rubble.

Meanwhile, famine “continues to loom in the north” and humanitarian access remains “severely restricted”, said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, in a post on social media.

“Virtually all 1.1 million children in Gaza are in urgent need of protection and mental health support,” she added.

Jan Yumul and Mike Gu in Hong Kong contributed to this report.