‘A tragic mistake’

TEL AVIV (AP):

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged on Monday that a “tragic mistake” had been made after an Israeli strike in the southern Gaza city of Rafah ,setting fire to a tent camp housing displaced Palestinians and, according to local officials, killed at least 45 people.

The mistake only added to the surging international criticism Israel has faced over its war with Hamas, with even its closest allies expressing outrage at civilian deaths. Israel insists it adheres to international law, even as it faces scrutiny in the world’s top courts, one of which last week demanded that it halt the offensive in Rafah.

Israel’s military had earlier said that it launched an investigation into civilian deaths after it struck a Hamas installation and killed two senior militants. Sunday night’s attack, which appeared to be one of the war’s deadliest, helped push the overall Palestinian death toll in the war above 36,000, according to the Gaza health ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and non-combatants in its tally.

“Despite our utmost efforts not to harm innocent civilians, last night there was a tragic mistake,” Netanyahu said on Monday in an address to Israel’s parliament. “We are investigating the incident and will obtain a conclusion, because this is our policy.”

Mohammed Abuassa, who rushed to the scene in the northwestern neighbourhood of Tel al-Sultan, said rescuers “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,” he said.

At least 45 people were killed, according to the Gaza health ministry and the Palestinian Red Crescent rescue service. The ministry said the dead included at least 12 women, eight children and three older adults, with another three bodies burned beyond recognition.

Rafah, the southernmost Gaza city on the border with Egypt, had housed more than a million people - about half of Gaza’s population - displaced from other parts of the territory. Most have fled once again since Israel launched what it called a limited incursion there earlier this month. Hundreds of thousands are packed into squalid tent camps in and around the city.

Netanyahu said Israel must destroy what he calls Hamas’ last remaining battalions in Rafah. The militant group launched a barrage of rockets on Sunday from the city towards heavily populated central Israel, setting off air-raid sirens but causing no injuries.

The strike on Rafah brought a new wave of condemnation, even from Israel’s strongest supporters.

The US National Security Council said in a statement that the “devastating images” from the strike on Rafah “are heartbreaking”. It said the US was working with the Israeli military and others to assess what happened.

French President Emmanuel Macron was more blunt, saying “these operations must stop” in a post on X. “There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian civilians. I call for full respect for international law and an immediate ceasefire,” he wrote.

The Foreign Office of Germany, which has been a staunch supporter of Israel for decades, said “the images of charred bodies, including children, from the airstrike in Rafah are unbearable.”