Forty-five Palestinians, among them women and children, were killed on Sunday after an Israeli airstrike caused a huge blaze at a tented area for displaced people in Rafah.
As reported by Reuters, Palestinian families rushed to hospitals to prepare their dead for burial following the strike late on Sunday night which set tents and rickety metal shelters on fire.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which is trying to eliminate Hamas in Gaza, said it was investigating reports that a strike it carried out against commanders of the Islamist militant group in Rafah had caused the fire.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strike had not been intended to cause civilian casualties.
In a speech in parliament that was interrupted by shouting from opposition lawmakers, Netanyahu said:
In Rafah, we already evacuated about 1 million non-combatant residents and despite our utmost effort not to harm non-combatants, something unfortunately went tragically wrong.
We are investigating the incident and will reach conclusions because this is our policy.
Survivors said families were preparing to sleep when the strike hit the Tel Al-Sultan neighbourhood.
Thousands of Palestinians fled to the area after Israeli forces began a ground offensive in the east of Rafah over two weeks ago.
Umm Mohamed Al-Attar, a Palestinian mother in a red headscarf said:
We were praying… and we were getting our children’s beds ready to sleep. There was nothing unusual, but then we heard a very loud noise, and fire erupted around us.
All the children started screaming… The sound was terrifying; we felt like the metal was about to collapse on us, and shrapnel fell into the rooms.
Video footage obtained by Reuters showed a fire raging in the darkness and people screaming in panic.
By daylight (Monday), the camp in Rafah was a smoking wreckage of tents, twisted metal and charred belongings. Women wept and men held prayers beside bodies in shrouds.
The health ministry in the Hamas-controlled area said about half of the dead were women, children and older adults.
Mohammed Abuassa, who rushed to the scene in the north-western neighbourhood of Tel al-Sultan, told the Associated Press:
We pulled out people who were in an unbearable state. We pulled out children who were in pieces. We pulled out young and elderly people. The fire in the camp was unreal.
The airstrike followed the interception of eight rockets fired towards Israel from the Rafah area in Gaza’s southern tip.
The strike, one of the deadliest single incidents in the eight-month war to date, came two days after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, ordered Israel to stop its operation in Rafah immediately.
The top UN court also reiterated calls for the immediate and unconditional release of hostages held in Gaza by Hamas.
The US, Israel’s closest ally and weapons supplier, urged Israel to take more care to protect civilians but stopped short of calling for a halt to the Rafah incursion. National Security Council spokesperson said:
Israel has a right to go after Hamas, and we understand this strike killed two senior Hamas terrorists who are responsible for attacks against Israeli civilians. But as we’ve been clear, Israel must take every precaution possible to protect civilians.
Posting on X (formerly Twitter), French President Emmanuel Macron said he was “outraged” over Israel’s latest attacks. He added:
These operations must stop. There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian civilians.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the International Court of Justice ruling must be respected.
Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said she was “horrified” by the deadly airstrike in Rafah, and called for an immediate ceasefire.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also condemned the Israeli attack and Qatar said the Rafah strike could hamper efforts to mediate a ceasefire and hostage exchange.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, more than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive.
Israel launched the offensive after Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages.
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