Netanyahu: Deadly attack on Rafah was a tragic accident

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the attack, which killed numerous displaced Palestinians in Rafah on Sunday, as a “tragic accident.” International criticism of the explosion is growing.

According to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry, at least 45 people were killed and hundreds more were treated for severe burns, broken bones and shrapnel injuries.

In a speech to the Israeli parliament, Netanyahu said it was crucial that Israel take “all possible precautions” to protect civilians caught up in the fighting in the Gaza Strip.

However, he stressed that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had done their best “not to harm those not involved in the conflict” and vowed to continue the fight against Hamas.

“I have no intention of ending the war before all objectives are achieved,” Netanyahu said in his speech, which was punctuated by occasional shouts from families of hostages taken by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel.

The Prime Minister was attacked by some family members for failing to reach an agreement on the return of their relatives.

“In Rafah, we have already evacuated about a million non-combatants, and despite our best efforts not to harm the non-combatants, unfortunately something has gone tragically wrong,” Netanyahu insisted.

“We are investigating the incident and will draw conclusions because that is our policy.”

International organizations have condemned the attack. The EU insists that Israel respect a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last week and stop the attacks on Rafah. The bloc’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, called Sunday’s attack “appalling.”

Despite the ICJ ruling, Israel has announced that it will continue the invasion of Rafah. Officials stressed that the ruling leaves room for compliance with international law in the attack.

Meanwhile, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said the attack indicated that there had been “no discernible change in Israel’s methods and means of warfare, which have already resulted in so many civilian deaths.”

Israel launched the attack on Rafah on Sunday just hours after Hamas launched its first rocket attack on Tel Aviv in several months.

IDF officials said two senior Hamas commanders were killed in the attack and that the number of civilians killed in the area is currently being investigated.

However, the Palestinian Red Crescent said the airstrike targeted tents for displaced people near a UN facility in Tal al-Sultan, about two kilometers northwest of central Rafah.

Videos from the scene in the Tal al-Sultan area showed a large explosion and heavy fires on Sunday evening.

Graphic footage showed a row of burning buildings next to a banner reading “Kuwaiti Peace Camp ‘1’,” and first responders and passersby carrying several bodies.

The aid organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) announced on Monday that at least 28 people, including women and children, had died in one of its facilities as a result of the attack.

In a statement, the organization said it had treated another 180 wounded Palestinians, most of whom suffered severe shrapnel wounds, broken bones, traumatic injuries and burns.

Doctors Without Borders rejected Israeli claims that the attack was targeted, saying the “attack on an inhabited camp in a so-called ‘safe zone’ in Rafah shows a total disregard for the lives of civilians in the Gaza Strip.”

The US called the images “heartbreaking” in a statement on Monday evening, but insisted that Israel had the right to defend itself.

“Israel has the right to act against Hamas, and we believe this attack killed two senior Hamas terrorists responsible for attacks on Israeli civilians,” a White House National Security Service spokesman said.

However, they acknowledged that “Israel must take all possible precautions to protect the civilian population.”