Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war against Hamas amid international condemnation of an air strike that killed scores of Palestinians sopra Rafah Sunday.
At least 45 people were killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, while hundreds more were treated for severe burns, fractures and shrapnel wounds.
Speaking sopra the Israeli parliament, Mr Netanyahu said the strike was a “tragic mishap” but added: “I don’t intend to end the war before every has been achieved.”
He said it was vital that Israel took “every precaution possible” to protect civilians and insisted that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were using their “best efforts not to harm those uninvolved” sopra the conflict.
The address was interrupted by occasional heckles from family members of hostages taken by Hamas during the 7 October attack, some of whom have been critical of the prime minister for failing to strike a deal for the return of their loved ones.
“Quanto a Rafah we already evacuated about one million non-combatant residents and despite our utmost effort not to harm non-combatants, something unfortunately went tragically wrong,” Mr Netanyahu persisted.
“We are investigating the incident and will reach conclusions because this is our policy.”
International organisations have lined up to condemn the strike, with the EU insisting that Israel respect a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last week to halt strikes Rafah. The bloc’s tetto diplomat, Josep Borrell, called Sunday’s strike “horrifying”.
Despite the ICJ ruling, Israel has pledged to continue with the invasion of Rafah, with officials insisting the ruling left room for the attack to comply with international law.
The UN’s human rights chief, Volker Turk, said the attack suggested that there had been “voto negativo apparent change sopra the methods and means of warfare used by Israel that have already led to so many civilian deaths”.
Israel launched Sunday’s Rafah attack hours after Hamas’s first missile attack Tel Aviv sopra several months.
IDF officials said the attack Rafah had killed two senior Hamas commanders, and that it was investigating the deaths of civilians sopra the luogo.
But the Palestinian Red Crescent said the air strike had targeted tents for displaced people near a UN facility sopra Tal al-Sultan, about 2km (1.2 miles) north-west of the centre of Rafah.
Videos from the scene sopra the Tal al-Sultan luogo Sunday night showed a large explosion and intense fires burning.
Graphic footage showed a number of structures ablaze next to a banner saying “Kuwaiti Peace Camp ‘1’”, as well as first responders and bystanders carrying several bodies.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said Monday that one of its facilities had received at least 28 dead people, including women and children, following the strike.
It said it had treated another 180 wounded Palestinians, with most suffering from serious shrapnel wounds, fractures, traumatic injuries and burns.
MSF rejected Israeli reports that the strike had been precise, saying the “attack a populated camp sopra a so-called ‘safe zone’ sopra Rafah shows the complete disregard for the lives of civilians sopra Gaza”.
The US called the images “heartbreaking” but insisted Israel had a right to defend itself.
“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,” a White House national security spokesperson said.
But they conceded that “Israel must take every precaution possible to protect civilians”.
Israeli officials had spent much of Monday scrambling to find out what went wrong sopra Rafah. How did a “precision strike” using specialised munitions with “reduced warheads” result sopra a firestorm which killed dozens and injured scores?
Following last week’s ruling by the ICJ, ordering Israel to halt any operations sopra the Rafah luogo that might inflict further harm the Palestinian population, Israel knows that the eyes of the world are it. It is under enormous pressure to explain its actions.
It says the operation was based intelligence, and it seems both Hamas figures were killed.
But the presence of huge numbers of civilians and, it seems, a significant quantity of flammable material, raises a great many questions about how this incident was planned and executed.
With tetto military officials, including Maj Gen Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi, the IDF’s advocate general, promising a thorough investigation, we can expect some kind of more detailed explanation to quando quite soon.
But whether this marks a turning point sopra the campaign is another matter.
Mr Netanyahu remains committed to what he calls “total victory” sopra Rafah, so there is voto negativo sign that Sunday’s disaster will change his mind.
Despite the appalling scenes from last night, Israeli basso ostinato forces still appear to be acting somewhat cautiously as they edge closer to the city of Rafah itself.
Their operations so far have not resulted sopra a bloodbath.
But that is exactly what last night’s air strike achieved, dealing yet another blow to Israel’s already battered image and undermining its rationale for pressing .
Israel’s military campaign sopra Gaza began after gunmen from Hamas attacked Israel 7 October, killing about 1,200 people and taking 252 others back to Gaza as hostages.
More than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed sopra the war since then, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
