Nearly three dozen people were killed in southern Gaza’s Rafah on Sunday evening in an Israeli airstrike that hit an area where internally displaced civilians were reportedly sheltering in tents, Palestinian health officials said.
Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that at least 35 people, the majority of them women and children, were killed in the attack on the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood. The Palestine Red Crescent Society warned that the number of casualties could rise as many people were trapped in the flames that broke out after the bombing.
“It is important to note that this location was designated as a humanitarian area by the Israeli occupation, and civilians were forced to evacuate to it,” the humanitarian and medical aid group said.
Doctors Without Borders, known in English as Médecins Sans Frontières, said at least 15 dead and dozens of injured people had been taken to a trauma stabilization point.
“We are shocked by this deadly event, which once again shows that nowhere is safe,” the organization said. “We continue to call for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza.”
Video shared on social media and verified by NBC News showed a tent area engulfed in flames as screaming Palestinians fled for safety and civil defense crews worked to extinguish the fire.
One video showed an apparently unconscious man being dragged out of a walled area by his feet. Two men who pulled him out then walked back into the flames, apparently to find more people.
Other videos showed disturbing images, including badly burned corpses and a man holding the headless body of a small child.
The Israeli military said the attack targeted two Hamas leaders they said were responsible for organizing terrorist attacks in the occupied West Bank territory. It said it was aware of reports that civilian tents were set on fire during the attack and that the incident was “under investigation.”
“The attack was carried out against legitimate targets under international law,” the IDF said in a statement, adding that it used “precise munitions” based on “precise intelligence indicating that Hamas was using the area.”
In a statement, Hamas described the attack as a horrific “massacre.” It did not confirm the death of the commander or senior leader.
Earlier Sunday, Hamas’s military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, announced a barrage of rockets in response to what it called “Zionist massacres against civilians.” The IDF said eight projectiles were identified reaching Israeli territory from the Rafah area and that the IDF Aerial Defense Array intercepted a number of projectiles.
An NBC News journalist witnessed one of those interceptions after sirens warned people of incoming fire in Israel for the first time in weeks. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage in the area.
The International Court of Justice, a United Nations body, on Friday ordered Israel to halt its military attack on Rafah, citing the “imminent risk” to Palestinians in the border town. In his ruling, Judge Nawaf Salam, president of the International Court of Justice, said Israel failed to adequately address and allay the concerns raised by the offensive.
Before Israel escalated operations in Rafah this month, more than 1 million civilians were believed to be sheltering in the city after it was designated a safe zone earlier in the war. According to the ICJ ruling, at least 800,000 people have been forced to flee the area this month, but there are many more.
An Israeli official told NBC News on Friday Benjamin Netanyahu met with legal advisors to review the ruling. The ruling, which the International Court of Justice can enforce, is unlikely to stop Israel’s actions as Netanyahu’s government previously condemned the case brought by South Africa.
Netanyahu has faced increasing criticism internationally and domestically over Israel’s handling of the war, which began after the October 7 Hamas-led attack. Officials estimate that 1,200 people were killed; about 250 others were taken hostage, and about half of them are believed to still be in captivity in Gaza. About a quarter of the remaining hostages are believed to be dead.
More than 35,000 people have been killed in Gaza in the past seven months of war, according to local health authorities. Aid groups have warned of catastrophic conditions for civilians without access to food and clean water, causing rampant spread of disease and famine in some parts of the enclave.
Netanyahu and other senior Israeli leaders have vowed to continue the war until Hamas is eliminated and all hostages are brought home. A group of relatives has urged the government to agree to a hostage release deal with Hamas.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
