Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the Israeli attack that killed at least 45 Palestinians over the weekend a “tragic mistake” and called for an investigation into the civilian deaths on Monday.
The Israeli attack on Rafah’s Tal al-Sultan neighborhood targeted a tent-filled humanitarian zone where Israel’s military previously instructed displaced Palestinians to take shelter from the ongoing war against the militant group Hamas, the Ministry said. of Gaza Health. The Israeli military claimed that the attack killed two senior Hamas leaders.
“Despite our best efforts not to harm innocent civilians, last night there was a tragic mistake,” Netanyahu said Monday in a speech to Israel’s parliament. “We are investigating the incident and will obtain a conclusion because that is our policy.”
Gaza health authorities said most of the dead were women and children, and noted the death toll was likely to rise as “countless” were trapped in the rubble.
The attack was widely denounced, as criticism of the Israeli military operation in Rafah mounts. A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council told Axios on Monday that the attack was “painful”.
“Israel has the right to persecute Hamas… but as we have been clear, Israel must take all possible precautions to protect civilians,” the spokesperson said. “We are actively engaging the IDF and partners on the ground to assess what happened.”
French President Emmanuel Macron took the strike as an opportunity to once again call for a ceasefire in the conflict.
“These operations must stop. There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian civilians,” Macron wrote on a post-social platform X. “I call for full respect for international law and an immediate ceasefire.”
The attack comes just days after the United Nations International Court of Justice ordered Israel to halt its operations in Rafah, the last remaining major settlement in Gaza that has not been invaded by Israel.
The Israeli military slowly invaded the city despite strong warnings from the Biden administration. President Biden warned earlier this month that he would halt military aid shipments to Israel if it invaded Rafah without a plan approved by U.S. leaders to limit civilian casualties.
More than half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people is believed to be sheltering in Rafah, and more than 80 percent of the territory’s total population is displaced from their homes. The UN said famine has broken out in parts of the region as civilians struggle to access humanitarian aid.
More than 120 humanitarian aid trucks entered the city on Sunday from Egypt, the first since the Israeli military seized the crossing earlier this month. It was not immediately clear whether local aid groups would be able to access the humanitarian supplies, however, The Associated Press reportedas fighting in the area has hampered humanitarian work.
Much of southern Gaza, including Rafah, has been largely without aid since the Israeli military began what it described as a limited operation in the area earlier this month.
A U.S.-built floating dock has begun delivering some aid to the area, although aid groups say it is far less than promised and there are not enough trucks to adequately distribute the supplies.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
