“Massacre of the tents” – NYT investigation refutes Israeli claims about Rafah airstrike

From the Palestine Chronicle editorial board

A New York Times investigation published on Friday refuted Israeli claims about the Rafah massacre and confirmed that the massacre was directed at a known refugee camp and resulted in numerous civilian casualties.

The tent massacre

At least 45 civilians were killed and many more injured, mostly children and women, when Israel bombed tents of displaced people northwest of the southern Gaza city of Rafah on May 26.

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said in a statement that day that Israel’s massacre took place in a supposedly safe area from which thousands of people had been displaced.

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that its crew members had removed a large number of bodies and injured after the crew targeted the tents of the displaced people in Rafah.

Rafah massacre – Israel targets camp for displaced Palestinians

The bombed camp is located in the Tal al-Sultan area, west of the city of Rafah. Sources reported that a large number of martyrs and injured people, most of them children and women, arrived at the Tal al-Sultan hospital.

According to eyewitnesses, the bombing resulted in the destruction and burning of numerous tents in the Rafah camp.

The massacre sparked international outrage and the Israeli military denied attacking the camp.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the civilian deaths a “tragic accident.” Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military spokesman, claimed there were “no tents in the immediate vicinity” of the targets.

However, a New York Times investigation refuted the Israeli claims and confirmed that Israel had dropped “250-pound bombs on makeshift structures in the camp.”

“Indescribable destruction” – majority of buildings in Gaza destroyed by Israel

Israeli claims refuted

“Deadly shrapnel flew in all directions and fire soon raged. By morning, dozens of Palestinians had been killed,” the New York Times reported on Friday.

The “thorough investigation” was reportedly conducted by interviewing witnesses and munitions experts, reviewing videos and analyzing satellite images to reconstruct the incident.

Maj. Nir Dinar, another Israeli military spokesman, told the Times that the Israeli military was not aware that the attacked complex housed displaced persons.

However, the investigation found that “Israel bombed targets inside a camp that had existed for months and provided shelter to hundreds of people displaced by the war.”

“The analysis raises questions about an assessment the Israeli military reportedly made before the attack that civilians would not be harmed,” the newspaper reported.

Before the Israeli operation in Rafah began on May 6, the military issued evacuation orders for the neighborhoods east of the city center, but not for the area that included this camp, which was home to up to 350 families.

“Israel is committing genocide, the US is complicit” – Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention

The attack was carried out by Israeli fighter jets, which reportedly dropped two American-made GBU-39 bombs, each weighing around 250 pounds and carrying 37 pounds of explosives.

GBU-39 bombs are marketed as “low collateral damage” weapons, prompting White House spokesman John Kirby to say this was “certainly an indication of an attempt to be discreet, targeted and precise.”

However, the investigation found that “the combination of weapon, location and timing caused destruction that went far beyond the target.”

“Two videos posted on social media captured the moment of the attack. The metadata of the videos suggests that it took place at 8:47 p.m.,” the report said. It continued: “Two minutes later, footage taken from a distance showed large flames.”

Videos taken immediately after the attack showed “people running and screaming, pulling charred bodies from burning rubble and climbing over twisted metal to rescue the living. One man held up the headless body of a small child.”

According to the Israeli army, the deaths were caused by the fire. He speculated that “weapons that we did not know about may have been stored nearby and detonated.”

He also mentioned that the military was reviewing videos on social media showing “secondary explosions.” However, the New York Times found no evidence of secondary explosions in the “dozens of videos” it reviewed.

“One million Palestinians have fled Rafah due to Israeli invasion” – UNRWA

Ongoing genocide

Israel, which is currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against the Palestinians, has been waging a devastating war against Gaza since October 7.

According to the Gaza Strip Ministry of Health, 37,266 Palestinians were killed and 85,102 injured in Israel’s genocide in the Gaza Strip, which began on October 7.

In addition, at least 7,000 people are missing and are believed to be lying dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian and international organizations say the majority of the dead and injured are women and children.

The Israeli war led to an acute famine, especially in the north of the Gaza Strip, and caused the deaths of many Palestinians, especially children.

New atrocity in Rafah – 20 Palestinians killed in bomb attack on refugee camp

The Israeli aggression also resulted in the forced displacement of nearly two million people from across the Gaza Strip. The vast majority of those displaced were forced to the densely populated southern city of Rafah, near the Egyptian border. It was the largest mass exodus from Palestine since the Nakba of 1948.

According to Israel, 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the flood relief operation in Al-Aqsa on October 7. Israeli media reported that many Israelis were killed by friendly fire that day.

(The Palestine Chronicle)