Editor’s note: Graphic content/ On May 27, 2024, fighting between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group continued, and Palestinians gathered at the site of an Israeli attack on the internally displaced persons camp in Rafah.
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Global leaders expressed shock and outrage after an Israeli military attack on the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Sunday night killed more than 45 people, including children, in a tent camp for displaced Palestinian refugees.
The Israel Defense Forces initially said they used “precision munitions” and “intelligence” to target two senior Hamas leaders in the area. It added that it was investigating the incident after reports that the strike sparked a fire that engulfed the camp, leaving behind destroyed shelters and charred bodies, images of which flooded social media.
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his anger in a post on the X social media platform, saying that he was “outraged by the Israeli attack that resulted in the death of many displaced people in Rafah.”
As fighting between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group continues on May 27, 2024, Palestinians mourn the bodies of relatives killed after an Israeli attack on a camp for internally displaced persons in Rafah.
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Macron’s post read: “These actions must stop. There is no safe zone for Palestinian civilians in Rafah.” He added: “I call for full respect for international law and an immediate ceasefire.”
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said: “The Palestinian people are being exploited without regard for the rights of innocent men, women and children who have nothing to do with Hamas.” He further emphasized that “this is no longer justified.”
The United States, meanwhile, called the images of the attack “devastating” and “heartbreaking” but stopped short of calling for a halt to Operation Rafah.
“Israel has the right to pursue Hamas, and we understand that this attack killed two senior Hamas terrorists who carried out attacks against Israeli civilians,” a National Security Council spokesman said, according to Reuters. “But as we have already As has been made clear, Israel must take every possible precaution to protect civilians.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the attack a “tragic incident.”
He said: “In Rafah we have evacuated approximately one million unaffected residents. Despite our best efforts not to harm the unaffected residents, a tragic incident occurred yesterday. We are investigating the case , we will draw conclusions because that is our policy.
A Palestinian child plays in the rubble after Israel bombed Palestinian tents and shelters in Gaza Sharafah on May 27, 2024. Tents of displaced Palestinians near the French warehouse.
Hani Arshar | Anadolu | Getty Images
Two days ago, the United Nations’ highest court, the International Court of Justice, ordered Israel to “immediately cease” its military offensive against Rafah, citing the “catastrophic” humanitarian situation.
The Court has no mechanism for directly enforcing its orders. Just one day after the ICJ’s ruling, Israel carried out air strikes on parts of Rafah, and Israeli tanks arrived in the center of Rafah on Tuesday, Reuters reported, citing local witnesses.
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