close
close
hsuses

Israel’s Prime Minister calls attack on Rafah a “tragic accident” and promises to defeat Hamas

Theo

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that the deadly attack on a refugee camp in the Rafah Gaza Strip was a “tragic accident” that his government is currently investigating.

“In Rafah, we evacuated one million innocent residents and despite our best efforts, a tragic accident occurred yesterday,” Netanyahu told parliament.

He added: “We are investigating the case and will draw conclusions” after Gaza’s Health Ministry reported 45 deaths when the attack late Sunday sparked a fire that devastated a tent city for displaced Gaza residents.

The ministry in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip also said 249 people were injured.

Israel faced a wave of international criticism on Monday over the attack on Rafah, including from across the region as well as from the European Union, France and the United Nations.

Advertisement – Scroll to continue


The Israeli military said it had launched an investigation into the attack based on “precise intelligence” about two Hamas fighters who were reportedly killed in the attack.

It added that “the attack did not take place in the humanitarian zone in Al-Mawasi, where the Israeli army has been ordering civilians to evacuate” since the ground operation began in Rafah.

Netanyahu struck a defiant tone in his speech to the Knesset, booed by relatives of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, and vowed to continue the fight to destroy Hamas.

Advertisement – Scroll to continue


“There is no substitute for absolute victory” in Gaza, he told the chamber.

Netanyahu condemned the pressure from within and without that he said his government has been exposed to since the beginning of the Gaza war.

“They put pressure on us back then,” Netanyahu said, before listing the calls to refrain from military operations that Israel nevertheless carried out.

Advertisement – Scroll to continue


“Do not enter Gaza. We have entered! Do not enter Shifa! We have entered! Do not enter Khan Yunis! We have entered! Do not enter Rafah! We have entered!” he said.

“I am not giving up and I will not give up! I will withstand the pressure from home and abroad.”

The Gaza war broke out after the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7 killed more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.

According to the Gaza Strip’s Health Ministry, at least 36,050 people, mostly civilians, were killed in Israel’s retaliatory offensive.

myl-lba-jd/srm

Related Posts