The Hamas-run health authority in Gaza said Monday that 45 people were killed and dozens injured in an Israeli airstrike that hit tents housing displaced people near the southern city of Rafah.
Most of the airstrike’s victims were women and children, the health authority said, describing the incident as a “massacre.”
The information could not initially be independently verified, but the Palestinian Red Crescent said earlier on the social media platform
The incident has sparked international horror and outrage.
Meanwhile, a firefight between Israeli and Egyptian forces near the Gaza Strip border also raised new concerns that the war in Gaza could escalate.
An Egyptian soldier was killed, an Egyptian military spokesman confirmed Monday.
It is the first publicly known fatality in the ranks of the Egyptian army since the start of the Gaza war almost eight months ago. The Israeli army confirmed a firefight.
The Israeli military said the incident was under investigation and talks were underway with Egypt.
The situation at the Rafah border crossing has become increasingly tense. Israeli forces recently took control of the border crossing on the Palestinian side, as well as a border strip between Egypt and Gaza.
Aid organizations report dozens of deaths in Israeli attack
The Palestinian Red Crescent said the airstrike hit a designated humanitarian zone for those forced to evacuate Rafah due to Israeli fighting.
Images from the scene showed the makeshift shelters on fire. It is not clear how many people were trapped or under the rubble.
The aid group Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported that a medical facility it supports in the area treated dozens of injured people, while more than 15 dead were taken to their trauma stabilization point.
“We are shocked by this deadly event, which once again shows that nowhere is safe. We continue to call for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza,” Doctors Without Borders said on X.
Israel is investigating the incident
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said via X that two senior Hamas officials were killed in the airstrike.
“The attack was carried out against legitimate targets under international law, through the use of precise munitions and on the basis of accurate intelligence indicating Hamas use of the area,” the IDF said in a statement.
“The IDF is aware of reports indicating that as a result of the attack and the fire that was ignited, several civilians in the area suffered harm. The incident is currently under investigation,” the statement said.
The attack came just days after the International Court of Justice in The Hague ordered Israel to halt its attack on Rafah.
Israel’s top military lawyer on Monday called the incident “very serious.”
“It is in the nature of things that serious incidents occur in a war of this magnitude and intensity,” Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi said Monday at a legal conference in the southern Israeli port city of Eilat.
“Some incidents – like yesterday in Rafah – are very serious.” The Israeli military always feels sorry when innocent bystanders are injured, she said.
Arab countries react angrily
Several Arab countries condemned the Israeli airstrike on Monday.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said the “deliberate bombing of the tents of displaced persons in the Palestinian city of Rafah” was a “new and blatant violation of the provisions of international law.”
Qatar also condemned the attack as a “serious violation of international laws that will worsen the humanitarian crisis in the besieged Strip.”
The Qatari Foreign Ministry expressed concern that the latest strike would complicate ongoing mediation efforts and hinder a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas later confirmed to DPA that it was suspending ceasefire negotiations, which were expected to restart this week.
In separate statements, Jordan and Kuwait condemned the “war crimes” committed by Israel in Gaza and urged the international community to force Israel to comply with the International Court of Justice ruling on Rafah.
Germany calls strike ‘wrong’
German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said on Monday that the airstrike was probably “a mistake” and again defended Israel’s “right to defend itself within the framework of international law.”
Asked about allegations of Israeli war crimes in Gaza, Hebestreit said the German government would withhold judgment.
“The conclusion as to whether this is a war crime in terms of international law is something that should be left to lawyers who know the exact facts,” Hebestreit said in Berlin.
If there is evidence of such a crime, the German government would certainly condemn it, Hebestreit said.
But he warned that such conclusions cannot be drawn from gruesome photos of the attack’s aftermath, noting recent missile launches from Rafah towards Tel Aviv.
“First investigate what exactly happened and then judge. And don’t immediately judge based on photos,” says Hebestreit.
Macron condemns the Israeli airstrike Rafa
French President Emmanuel Macron, who was in Germany on a three-day state visit, reacted much more forcefully, calling for an immediate ceasefire and full compliance with international law.
“These operations must stop,” an “indignant” Macron wrote on X. “There are no safe zones for Palestinian civilians in Rafah.”
The war in Gaza was sparked by the massacre of more than 1,200 people by terrorists from the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and other militants on October 7.
Israel responded with massive air strikes and a ground offensive. International criticism of Israel has increased as the death toll among Palestinians has risen. According to the Hamas authorities in Gaza, there are currently more than 35,000 deaths.
