Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged Monday that his military killed 45 Palestinian refugees in Rafah, describing the incident as a "tragic mistake."
The fatal airstrike on the besieged city of Rafah has been condemned by the international community. The United Nations described the aftermath as "horrifying;" Italian officials said that Israel's actions in Gaza are "no longer justifiable;" French President Emmanuel Macron expressed "outrage;" Ireland's foreign minister called the incident "barbaric" and multiple Arab states described Israel's actions as "war crimes."
Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of Gaza's Hamas-run government media office said that the Israel Defense Forces "called on citizens and displaced persons to go to these safe zones," which were then attacked by missiles.
The IDF disputed these claims, claiming they "carried out an intelligence-based precise strike that targeted senior Hamas terrorists in Tal as Sultan."
The United States has warned Israel for months to not invade Rafah without a plan to mitigate civilian harm. Israel defied those requests and bombarded the city with missiles.
"We've been clear, Israel must take every precaution possible to protect civilians," a U.S. National Security Council spokesperson said after the attack. "We are actively engaging the IDF and partners on the ground to assess what happened, and understand that the IDF is conducting an investigation."
