Days after an Israeli airstrike ended up causing a massive fire in a tent camp in Gaza’s Rafah, an area designated as a humanitarian zone, the Israeli military has denied hitting a tent camp west of Rafah, as claimed by the Gaza health authorities. The authorities have claimed that the Israeli tank shelling killed at least 21 people on Tuesday, May 28.
Earlier, despite an appeal from the International Court of Justice, Israeli tanks advanced into the heart of Rafah following a night of intense bombardment. Meanwhile, Spain, Ireland, and Norway officially recognized a Palestinian state, a decision that further deepened Israel’s international isolation.
Following an airstrike attack on Sunday which took 45 lives and injured around 200 people, the Israel military said that it targeted the southern Rafah area and killed two senior Hamas operatives after receiving the knowledge of Hamas’s release of rockets at the Tel Aviv area.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the deaths of 45 people a “tragic mistake” and said an investigation will be carried out.
US not to change Israel policy
While Israel has faced global condemnation for the Rafah deaths, the White House has said that the Biden administration has no plans of changing its Israel policy. However, it added that the US is not turning a “blind eye” to the Palestinian plight.
The US said it is closely monitoring the probe into the deaths of 45 people, but these recent deaths do not constitute a major ground operation in Rafah that crosses any US red lines.
“The Israelis have said this is a tragic mistake,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
He added, “We’ve also said we don’t want to see a major ground operation in Rafah that would really make it hard for the Israelis to go after Hamas without causing extensive damage and potentially a large number of deaths. We have not seen that yet.”
Kirby was questioned about whether the weekend’s events might lead to the kind of “death and destruction” that could prompt US officials to reconsider further aid to Israel.
As per a Reuters report, global leaders have expressed horror at the weekend fire in a designated humanitarian zone in Rafah, where families displaced by the Israel-Hamas war had sought refuge. According to Gaza’s health ministry, more than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive. Israel initiated its air and ground assault after Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israeli communities on October 7, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages, based on Israeli reports.
(With Reuters inputs)