Israeli attack on tent camp in Gaza’s Rafah city kills 45, draws global condemnation
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CAIRO – An Israeli air strike triggered a massive blaze that killed at least 45 people in a tent camp in the Gaza city of Rafah, drawing condemnation from global leaders on May 27 who urged the implementation of a World Court ruling to halt Israel’s offensive.
In scenes grimly familiar from a war in its eighth month, Palestinian families rushed to hospitals to prepare their dead for burial after the strike late on the evening of May 26
Women wept and men held prayers beside bodies in shrouds.
“The whole world is witnessing Rafah getting burned up by Israel, and no one is doing anything to stop it,” Rafah resident Bassam said, via a chat app, of the strike in an area of western Rafah that has been designated a safe zone.
Survivors said families were preparing to sleep when the strike hit. “We were praying... and we were getting our children’s beds ready to sleep. There was nothing unusual. Then, we heard a very loud noise, and fire erupted around us,” said Ms Umm Mohamed Al-Attar.
“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,” she said.
The attack took place in the Tel Al-Sultan neighbourhood, where thousands were sheltering after Israeli forces began a ground offensive in the east of Rafah more than two weeks ago.
Video footage obtained by Reuters showed a fire raging in the darkness, and people screaming in panic. A group of young men tried to haul away sheets of corrugated iron, and a hose from a single fire truck began to douse the flames.
Many of the dead were women, children and elderly people, health officials said, adding that the death toll was likely to rise as some were in critical condition with severe burns.
Israel’s military said the strike on May 26, based on “precise intelligence”, eliminated Hamas’ chief of staff for the second and larger Palestinian territory, the West Bank, plus another official behind attacks on Israelis.
That followed the interception of eight rockets fired towards Israel from the Rafah area.
Israel’s top military prosecutor, however, called the air strike “very grave” and said an investigation was under way.
“The IDF (Israel Defence Forces) regrets any harm to non-combatants during the war,” Major-General Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi said at a news conference on May 27.
Israel has kept up attacks on Rafah despite a ruling by the top UN court on May 24 ordering it to stop
French President Emmanuel Macron said he was “outraged” by Israel’s latest attacks.
“These operations must stop. There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian civilians,” he said on social media platform X.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and the European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the ruling must be respected.
“International humanitarian law applies for all, also for Israel’s conduct of the war,” Ms Baerbock said.
No safe zone
By daylight, the camp was a smoking wreckage of tents, twisted metal and charred belongings.
Sitting beside the bodies of his relatives, Mr Abed Mohammed Al-Attar said Israel had lied when it told residents they would be safe in Rafah’s western areas. His brother, sister-in-law and other relatives were killed in the blaze.
“The army is a liar. There is no security in Gaza. There is no security, not for a child, an elderly man, or a woman. Here, he (my brother) is with his wife. They were martyred,” he said.
“What have they done to deserve this? Their children have been orphaned.”
Palestinians inspect the damage after an Israeli army raid on a camp at an area designated for displaced people in Rafah, on May 27.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Hospitals in Rafah, including the International Committee of the Red Cross field hospital, were unable to handle all the wounded, so some were moved to hospitals in Khan Younis farther north in Gaza for treatment, medics said.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said the situation was horrifying. “Gaza is hell on earth. Images from last night are yet another testament to that,” UNRWA wrote on X.
Nearly 36,000 people have been killed in Israel’s offensive, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Israel launched the operation after Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israeli communities on Oct 7
Israel says it wants to root out Hamas fighters holed up in Rafah, and rescue hostages it says are being held in the area. But it faces an international outcry.
“On top of the hunger, on top of the starvation, the refusal to allow aid in sufficient volumes, what we witnessed last night is barbaric,” Ireland’s Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said.
Egypt condemned the Israeli military’s “deliberate bombing of the tents of displaced people”, state media reported, describing it as a blatant violation of international law.
Saudi Arabia also condemned the Israeli attack, and Qatar said the Rafah strike could hinder efforts to mediate a ceasefire and hostage exchange.
Israeli tanks have probed around the edges of Rafah near the crossing point from Gaza into Egypt since May 6, and have entered some of its eastern districts. REUTERS
