The Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza says the death toll from an overnight Israeli attack on the tents of displaced Palestinians in Rafah has risen to 45, as the attack draws condemnation across the Arab and Western world.
In grimly familiar scenes from a war now in its eighth month, Palestinian families rushed to hospitals Monday to prepare their dead for burial after Sunday night’s attack burned tents and shelters rickety. The women wept while the men prayed next to the bodies wrapped in shrouds.
“The whole world sees Rafah being burned by Israel and no one is doing anything to stop it,” Rafah resident Bassam said via chat app about the attack in an area of western Rafah which had been designated a safe zone. area.
The attack took place in the Tal As-Sultan neighborhood, where thousands of people took refuge after Israeli forces launched a ground offensive east of Rafah more than two weeks ago.
Most of the dead were women and children, health officials said, adding that the death toll was likely to rise as some seriously burned victims were in critical condition.
Israel continued its attacks on Rafah despite a ruling Friday by the United Nations’ highest court ordering the attacks to stop, arguing that this gives it some leeway for military action there.
The Israeli military said airstrikes hours after rockets fired toward Tel Aviv killed two senior Hamas officials, and it was investigating reports of civilians killed in Rafah.
Gaza Civil Defense said many bodies were “charred” after the attack sparked a fire that ravaged the camp. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said one of its field hospitals had received an “influx of wounded seeking treatment for wounds and burns” and that “our teams were doing their best to save people.” lives “.
The Israeli attack sparked strong protests from Egypt, Qatar, Jordan and Kuwait, who warned it could “hamper” nascent moves to restart ceasefire talks. fire in neutral.