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Revision as of 06:10, 28 May 2024

Tel al-Sultan airstrikes
Part of the Rafah offensive and Refugee camp airstrikes in the Israel–Hamas war
File:Rafah displacement camp airstrike.webp
The camp on fire after the strike
LocationTel al-Sultan, Rafah, Gaza Strip
Date26 May 2024
~20:45 (UTC+02:00)
TargetHamas compound (per Israel)
'Brix' tent camp (per PRCS)[1]
Attack type
Airstrikes, massacre (alleged)
Deaths45–50 civilians[2][3][a]
2 Hamas officials (per Israel)[5]
Injured250+ civilians
Perpetrators Israeli Air Force

On 26 May 2024, the Israeli Air Force bombed a displacement camp in Tel al-Sultan, in western Rafah as part of its offensive in the city, killing between 45 and 50 people and injuring over 200.[6][2] The attack was the deadliest incident of the Rafah offensive.[7]

Rafah had already been overcrowded from the evacuations of other parts of the Gaza Strip.[8] Two days before the attack the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to halt the Rafah offensive,[9] but Israel interpreted the order differently.[10]

The target of the attack is disputed. One week before the bombing, Israel had designated the area as a "safe zone" and dropped leaflets urging Palestinians to evacuate to this area.[11][12][13] After the bombing, Israel claimed there was a Hamas compound in the area that it targeted. But the Palestine Red Crescent Society said Israel targeted tents for displaced people.[1] The "Brix" tent camp went aflame, trapping and burning the civilians residing in it.[14]

Images of the attack spread internationally, with them being described as "some of the worst" of the war.[15] The attack received widespread condemnation, with some groups calling it a war crime and a massacre.[5] Israel later claimed the deaths were an accident stemming from its attack on the compound.[16] The attack is currently "under review" by the Israel Defense Forces.[17][18]

Background

After evacuation orders were issued by Israel during the Israel-Hamas war, many areas of Gaza became depopulated, with refugees primarily traveling to Rafah. Rafah became dense and overcrowded, with over 1.4 million civilians sheltering in the area.[8] However, when Israel invaded the city, it ordered the eastern neighborhoods evacuated as well. An estimated 950,000 civilians fled, going to other parts of southern Gaza designated as safe, including western Rafah.[19][3]

Two days before the attack, International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to prevent genocidal actions in Rafah.[20] The Euro-Med Monitor reported that since the order was issued, Israel had launched over 60 airstrikes on the city in 48 hours.[21] The order was widely interpreted as obliging Israel to stop the Rafah offensive, and the European Union said Israel was violating the order by continuing the offensive.[10][22] However, Israel interpreted the order as merely to comply with international law, but not necessarily stop the offensive.[10]

Designation by Israel as a "safe zone"

Many sources reported that the area that Israel attacked had previously been designated by Israel a "safe zone".[23][11] CBC News showed pictures of Israeli leaflets that read:[12]

For your safety, the Israeli Defence Force is asking you to leave these areas immediately and to go to known shelters in Deir el Balah or the humanitarian area in Tel al-Sultan through Beach Road. And don't blame us after we warned you.[12]

NPR reported that Israeli leaflets urging civilians to evacuate to Tel al-Sultan had been dropped one week before the bombing.[24] Witnesses speaking to Agence France Press confirmed they only came to Tel al-Sultan on instructions from IDF leaflets.[25]

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society stated that the location had been designated by Israel as a "humanitarian area" and it was not included in areas that Israel's military ordered evacuated earlier this month.[26][27] Abed Mohammed Al-Attar, whose family would later be killed in the attack, said the Israeli forces had told residents that this area was a safe zone.[23]

Attack

Israeli fighter jets reportedly fired eight missiles at the "Brix" tent camp, located in the Tel al-Sultan neighborhood of western Rafah, an area deemed humanitarian.[28] The camp was 200 metres (660 ft) from the largest UNRWA humanitarian aid storage warehouse in the Gaza Strip.[29][30][13] It claimed to have targeted a Hamas compound and to have killed two senior Hamas commanders; the West Bank Chief of Staff Yassin Rabia and senior official Khaled Nagar, "in accordance with international law".[5] According to an initial Israeli investigation, civilian casualties were caused by a fire.[31] Israel told the United States that it was caused when shrapnel struck a fuel tank 100 metres (330 ft) away, setting a tent on fire and then spreading.[32] However the Palestinian Red Crescent said that the strikes directly targeted tents housing displaced people.[1]

Israel claimed it had taken steps to limit civilian casualties during the strike.[33] According to the IDF, two missiles whose warheads were "reduced in size" were used in the strikes. It also claimed that the strike took place outside of the humanitarian zone in the al-Mawasi region.[34]

Victims

The Gaza Health Ministry (GHM) claimed the attack killed at least 45 people, and ActionAid UK said it killed 50.[2][3] The GHM said that among the fatalities were at least 12 women, eight children, and three elderly.[35] Doctors Without Borders claimed that dozens of civilians were injured,[36] with the GHM eventually confirming 65 injuries.[37] It later raised the amount of injuries to over 200.[6]

Survivors of the attack said it "burned people alive" and destroyed an entire block.[5] The Palestine Red Crescent Society said civilians were trapped in the flames. A video verified by NBC News showed Palestinians screaming for help in tents "engulfed by flames" with civil defense crews attempting to stop the fire. Another video showed volunteers trying to save people, with others displaying burnt corpses, including one of a child with their head torn off.[14] Victims of the attack were rushed to the Emirati Hospital,[38] but the GHM said that Rafah hospitals didn't have enough resources to deal with the amount of injured people.[6]

Investigation

Investigations into the attack began on 27 May. The initial IDF report was that shrapnel from its airstrike hit a fuel tank 100 metres (330 ft) away, igniting the fire. However, the U.S. said it had no way to validate this, and started its own inquiry.[39]

Reactions

Domestic

Palestine

Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad condemned the attack, labeling it a massacre and calling for the Palestinian people to "rise up and march" against Israel.[5] A spokesperson for the Presidency of the Palestinian Authority condemned the incident, also calling it a massacre.[40] In a separate statement on 27 May, Mahmoud Al-Habbash, the advisor of the Palestinian president, called for an immediate intervention in Rafah to protect civilians.[41] The Palestinian Presidency also called for an intervention.[42]

Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the incident was a "tragic mistake".[16] The Israeli military said the attack was "under review",[36] while its top military prosecutor Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi called the incident "very grave".[43]

Two former Israeli journalists Yinon Magal and Naveh Dromi and rapper Yoav Eliasi praised the attack, which earned outrage from social media users.[44]

International

Governments

Spain, Ireland, and Norway condemned the attack and urged Israel to halt the offensive in a joint statement.

  •  Belgium: Prime Minister Alexander De Croo called for further peace negotiations after the attack.[2]
  •  Canada: A legislator and the leader of the New Democratic Party Jagmeet Singh posted a tweet after Images of the incident went viral: "Images of the IDFs airstrike hitting a camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah are horrifying. Images so terrible I won’t share them. The world is failing the people of Gaza. Canada is failing the people of Gaza."[45]
  •  Egypt: The country condemned the attack, again calling on Israel to halt the Rafah offensive.[46]
  •  France: French politicians called for action against Israel for the attack, with one also calling it an "abominable massacre".[47] President Emmanuel Macron said he was "outraged" at the attacks and again called for a ceasefire.[2][48]
  •  Italy: Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said that violence against Palestinians was "no longer justifiable".[49]
  •  Ireland: the Irish vice-prime minister said the attack was "barbaric" and urged Israel to halt the Rafah offensive.[50]
  •  Norway: Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide stated that the Israeli attack on Rafah has "breached international law".[51]
  •  Turkey: President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said condemned the attack, calling it "barbaric" and saying he would do "everything possible" to hold Israel to account.[52][53]
  •  Qatar: The country warned that the strike could hinder ceasefire negotiations.[46]
  •  Saudi Arabia: The country said that it "condemns in the strongest terms the continued massacres" carried out by Israeli forces in Gaza and that it "affirms its categorical rejection of the continued flagrant violations by the Israeli occupation forces of all international and humanitarian resolutions, laws, and norms".[40] The Saudi Foreign Ministry also called for the international community to intervene in the conflict.[54]
  •  Spain: Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said the bombing of Rafah was "one more day with innocent Palestinian civilians being killed", adding that the gravity of the attack "is even larger" as it comes after the ICJ order directing Israel to halt its operations in Rafah and the rest of Gaza.[40]
  •  UAE: The country condemned the attack and stressed that Israel had to follow the ICJ's ruling.[2]
  •  United Kingdom: Jeremy Corbyn, the former UK Labour Party leader, called the attack a "monstrous failure of humanity",[52] while the current leader of the Labour party Keir Starmer says that he will push for an end to the invasion of Gaza.[55] The UK Foreign Office reiterated that it didn't support the Rafah offensive.[2]
  •  United States: White House Office said it was aware of the reports and still gathering information.[56] Later on 27 May, the Biden administration condemned the attack and began assessing whether the strike violated its "red line".[7]

Supranational

  •  African Union: African Union Commission said the ICJ order must be "urgently enforced if global order is to prevail". Its chairman Moussa Faki wrote on X: "With horrific overnight airstrikes killing mostly Palestinian women & children trapped in a displacement camp in Rafah, the State of Israel continues to violate international law with impunity and in contempt of an ICJ ruling two days ago ordering an end to its military action in Rafah".[40]
  •  European Union: Foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemned the attack, saying that Israel's attacks needed to stop.
  •  United Nations: Francesca Albanese condemned the attack and calls it "unacceptable", she also stated that Israel must face sanctions to pressure them to stop.[57]
  • UNRWA: Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner General of UNRWA said that images from the attack were "a testament to how Rafah has turned into hell on earth".[58]

Humanitarian aid groups

A British doctor in Rafah said that videos of the attack were "truly some of the worst that I have seen".[15]

Other

  • Council on American-Islamic Relations: The American-Muslim advocacy and civil rights organization condemned the attacks and demanded that US President Joe Biden stop arming Israel to embolden further attacks on civilians in the face of several prior attacks using US weapons.[61] National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell stated in a news conference that Biden should not keep "shifting" and "cross[ing] his own red line" and "every red line of U.S. law, international law and basic human decency", and that him providing "military, financial, and diplomatic support" to these operations was staining all Americans "with the blood of innocent Palestinians".[62]
  • Jewish Voice for Peace: the US-based Jewish advocacy group condemned the "massacre" carried out by Israel, stating that "the genocide must end".[63]
  • Former first minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf wrote: "Bear witness to the images and ask yourself, are you on the right side of history?" after sharing the images of the incident.[45]

See also

References

  1. ^ Including at least 23 women and children[4]
  1. ^ a b c "Gaza war: Dozens reported killed in Israeli strike on Rafah". BBC News. 26 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Israel-Gaza war live: attacks on Rafah are 'horrifying', says Unrwa, as Macron says he is 'outraged'". theguardian.com. The Guardian. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d "Israel-Gaza live updates: Death toll in Rafah airstrike rises to 50: Action Aid UK". abcnews.go.com. ABC News. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  4. ^ "Israeli strike hits Rafah area after Hamas barrage". bbc.com. BBC. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Israel's war on Gaza updates: 'More than 30' killed in Rafah strike". aljazeera.com. Aljazeera. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Ebrahim, Nadeen (27 May 2024). "At least 45 killed in Israeli strike on camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah". CNN. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  7. ^ a b "White House assessing if Israel violated "red line" with Rafah strike". axios.com. Axios. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  8. ^ a b "ActionAid: Conditions in Rafah at breaking point, with over one million displaced people". wafa agency.
  9. ^ Haque, Adil Ahmad (25 May 2024). "Halt: The International Court of Justice and the Rafah Offensive". Just Security. Retrieved 28 May 2024. Israel must refrain from any action in Rafah that risks killing a substantial part of the Palestinian group, either through bombardment or through displacement to areas where they will not long survive. The Court found that Israel's current military offensive is such an action...This military offensive must immediately halt.
  10. ^ a b c "Isolated Israel argues ICJ ruling leaves door open to Rafah offensive". NBC News. 27 May 2024. It was widely viewed as an unambiguous statement: The top United Nations court ordered Israel to immediately halt its military assault on Rafah
  11. ^ a b "Dozens killed and wounded after explosions at Gaza 'safe-zone' camp". www.ft.com.
  12. ^ a b c Schmunk, Rhianna. "Israel's deadly attack on tent camp confirms 'there is no safety' in Gaza, survivors say". CBC News.
  13. ^ a b Rasheed, Zaheena. "'People burned alive' as Israel attacks designated safe zone in Rafah". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  14. ^ a b c "Gaza ministry reports at least 35 killed in strike that hit civilian tents in Rafah". nbcnews.com. NBC News. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  15. ^ a b "Middle East Crisis: Israeli Airstrike in Rafah Kills Dozens in Tent Camp, Gazan Officials Say". nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
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  24. ^ Al-Shalchi, Hadeel. "Israeli strikes hit tents for displaced people in the southern Gaza city of Rafah". National Public Radio.
  25. ^ "Devastation after Israeli strike on Rafah camp - Al-Monitor: Independent, trusted coverage of the Middle East". Al-Monitor. 27 May 2024. They dropped leaflets asking us to go to the humanitarian zone in Tal al-Sultan, so we complied and came here," Abu Muhammad, who was displaced from north Gaza five months ago, told AFP.
  26. ^ "Palestinian medics say Israeli airstrike kills 22 in Rafah". ABC News. 26 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
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  39. ^ "Shrapnel from Israeli strike may have ignited fuel tank near Rafah tents, report says". timesofisrael.com. Times of Israel. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  40. ^ a b c d "'Heinous massacre': Israel's attack on Rafah tent camp widely condemned". Al Jazeera. 27 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
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  60. ^ "Israel's war on Gaza live news: Rafah carnage prompts global condemnation | Israel-Palestine conflict News | Al Jazeera".
  61. ^ Ibrahim, Hooper (26 May 2024). "CAIR Condemns 'U.S.-Backed Massacre' at Rafah Displacement Center". CAIR.
  62. ^ Hooper, Ibrahim (27 May 2024). "Baltimore: National Muslim Leaders to Respond to Israeli Massacre in Rafah 'Safe Zone,' Beheading of Palestinian Children". CAIR.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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