Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has acknowledged there was a "tragic mistake" after a strike killed dozens of people in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
In a speech before parliament on Monday, he said Israel was investigating the strike that occurred last night after rescuers said they found children "in pieces" following an "unreal" fire on a refugee camp in the Tal al-Sultan area. Israel has faced worldwide condemnation for its latest strikes that local health officials said killed at least 45 Palestinians, including displaced people living in tents that were engulfed by fire.
Netanyahu said that "despite our utmost efforts not to harm innocent civilians, last night, there was a tragic mistake. We are investigating the incident and will obtain a conclusion because this is our policy." Israel claimed it struck a Hamas installation and killed two senior militants. Israel has faced surging international criticism over its war with Hamas, with even some of its closest allies, including the US, expressing outrage at civilian deaths.
Palestinians killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip are brought to the Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)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. Sunday night's attack, which appeared to be one of the deadliest in the war, pushed the overall Palestinian death toll in the war above 36,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
"We pulled out people who were in an unbearable state," said Mohammed Abuassa, who rushed to the scene in the northwestern neighborhood of Tel al-Sultan. "We pulled out children who were in pieces. We pulled out young and elderly people. The fire in the camp was unreal."
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The Gaza Health Ministry said around half of the dead were women, children, and older adults. On Monday, barefoot children poked at the blackened debris as searches continued. France, a close European ally of Israel, said it was "outraged" by the violence.
A wounded child waits for treatment at the hospital (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)"These operations must stop. There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian civilians. I call for full respect for international law and an immediate ceasefire," President Emmanuel Macron posted on X. 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, but hundreds of thousands are still sheltering in Rafah after their homes were destroyed and they were pushed towards the south by Israel. Hundreds of thousands are packed into tent camps in and around the city.
In a separate development, Egypt's military said one of its soldiers was shot dead during an exchange of fire in the Rafah area, without providing further details. Israel said it was in contact with Egyptian authorities, and both sides said they were investigating.
A Palestinian medic moves a child killed in an Israeli bombardment (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said bombings like the latest one in Rafah will have long-standing repercussions for Israel. He told Italy's SKY TG24 news channel: "Israel with this choice is spreading hatred, rooting hatred that will involve their children and grandchildren. I would have preferred another decision."
Qatar, a key mediator between Israel and Hamas in attempts to secure a ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamas, said the strikes could "complicate" talks. Negotiations, which appear to be restarting, have faltered repeatedly over Hamas' demand for a lasting truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, terms Israeli leaders have publicly rejected.
Neighbouring Egypt and Jordan, which made peace with Israel decades ago, also condemned the Rafah strikes. Egypt's Foreign Ministry described the strike on Tel al-Sultan as a "new and blatant violation of the rules of humanitarian international law." Jordan's Foreign Ministry called it a "war crime".
Palestinians mourn over the bodies of relatives killed in an Israeli airstrike at a morgue in Rafah (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)The Israeli military's top legal official said authorities were examining the strikes and that the military regrets the loss of civilian life. Military Advocate General Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi said such incidents occur "in a war of such scope and intensity."
Speaking to an Israeli lawyers' conference, Tomer-Yerushalmi said Israel launched 70 criminal investigations into incidents that aroused suspicions of international law violations, including the deaths of civilians, the conditions at a detention facility holding suspected Palestinian militants, and the deaths of some inmates in Israeli custody.
She said incidents of "violence, property crimes and looting" were also being examined. Israel has long maintained it has an independent judiciary capable of investigating and prosecuting abuses.
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Palestinian health workers said Israeli airstrikes killed at least 35 people in the area (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)But rights groups say Israeli authorities routinely fail to fully investigate violence against Palestinians and that even when soldiers are held accountable, the punishment is usually light. Israel has denied allegations of genocide brought against it by South Africa at the International Court of Justice.
Last week, the UN's top court ordered Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah, a ruling that it has no power to enforce. Separately, the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court is seeking arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as three Hamas leaders, over alleged crimes linked to the war.
Israel says it does its best to adhere to the laws of war and says it faces an enemy that makes no such commitment, embeds itself in civilian areas, and refuses to release Israeli hostages unconditionally. Around 80 per cent of Gaza's 2.3 million people have fled their homes, severe hunger is widespread and UN officials say parts of the territory are experiencing famine.
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