Israeli attack condemned by world leaders, After death of 45 people in Gaza tent camp.

The Israeli military stated it targeted two top Hamas commanders in Rafah and will investigate civilian casualties “in the area of the strike.” Global outcry mounting.

Local authorities said that an Israeli aircraft struck an area where displaced residents were seeking refuge in tents, causing a fire that spread across the camp, resulting in the deaths of several individuals in Rafah late on Sunday.

Some footage posted on social media revealed horrifying Israeli attack scenes including badly charred bodies and a guy cradling what looks to be the decapitated body of a tiny kid. scenes showed the area engulfed in flames as screaming Palestinians fled for safety.

Only a few days after the highest court of the United Nations ordered Israel to stop its onslaught on the southern Gaza metropolis where over a million people had sought sanctuary, international leaders condemned the strike.
Israeli attack
The Israel Defense Forces claimed it had targeted two top Hamas commanders, avoided striking a designated humanitarian area, and taken precautions to lessen the chance of hurting civilians as the outrage from around the world grew. However, it also said that a thorough investigation would be carried out into “the deaths of civilians in the area of the strike.”

The attempts to establish a cease-fire agreement, which was extended in Europe over the weekend, might be hampered, Qatar said. The IDF said on Monday that “a shooting incident occurred on the Egyptian border,” that it was being investigated, and that talks were being conducted with the Egyptians, which heightened tensions.

Israeli attack on Rafah is situated on the Egyptian side of Gaza’s southern border. The situation on the ground could not be independently verified by NBC News. “They said it’s secure.” At least 35 people have died in the Tal al-Sultan area, most of them women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry.

First responders had warned that since many people were caught in flames that burst after the bombing, the death toll may grow. Additionally, the ministry said on Monday that at least 45 more individuals had died.

According to Muhammad Al-Mughir, the spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defense in Rafah, “this massacre is the largest in the city of Rafah in months,” NBC News was informed. He emphasized that the targeted region was a “humanitarian area” next to United Nations facilities.

The Israeli attack on Sunday occurred less than a mile from a trauma patient stabilization station run by Médecins Sans Frontières, or Doctors Without Borders, according to Samuel Johann, the organization’s emergency coordinator in Gaza.

He said that the hospital had received dozens of patients, at least 28 of whom had already passed away and 180 wounded in Israeli attack. A family recalled their terrifying escape when it seemed that the apartment building they were taking refuge in was affected.

“Windows shattered suddenly,” Hala Siam reported to the NBC News team on the scene. “The kids were frightened by the Israeli attack. Everyone of us left for the street.”

Of the location where Siam and her family were taking refuge, “They said it is safe,” Siam said. “There is no safe place in Rafah due to Israeli attack.”

The IDF said that two Hamas commanders were the targets of its assault because they were in charge of planning terrorist acts in the occupied West Bank region. The statement said that it was aware of rumors that the attack set fire to tents belonging to civilians and that the event was “under review.”

The IDF later announced in a statement that the bombing was carried out in response to “prior intelligence information regarding the presence of the senior Hamas terrorists at the site.

” It said that before to the attack “a number of steps were taken to reduce the risk of harming uninvolved civilians” as well as that “it was assessed that there would be no expected harm to uninvolved civilians.”

It said that “the circumstances of the civilian deaths in the area of the strike are being investigated.” The IDF is sorry if any innocent bystanders were harmed in battle.”

Hamas called the attack a horrifying “massacre” in a statement. It did not corroborate the commander’s or senior leader’s death.

The armed branch of Hamas said earlier on Sunday that it will launch its first missile bombardment into Israel, aimed at Tel Aviv, in many weeks. Eight rockets were detected entering Israeli land from the Rafah region, according to the IDF, and some of them had been intercepted.

Mediators Qatar and Egypt denounced the strike as a breach of international law as indignation over Sunday’s Rafah incident grew due to Israeli attack. It might jeopardize attempts to reach a peace agreement that would guarantee the release of the other captives, Qatar, a crucial mediator in negotiations with Hamas, said.

An Israeli source told NBC News that the Israeli government was optimistic that discussions may continue this week after CIA Director William Burns had meetings in Paris over the weekend.

However, French President Emmanuel Macron said that “these operations must stop” and expressed his horror at “the Israeli attack that have killed many displaced persons in Rafah.” Josep Borrell, the head of EU foreign policy, expressed his “horror” and condemnation of the strike.

Following the attack on Sunday, a spokesman for the US National Security Council said, “We’re aware of the reports and gathering more information.”

Israel’s military activities seem to have been “more targeted and limited,” according to National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan at a briefing last Wednesday before of the International Court of Justice’s decision.

President Joe Biden has made no secret of the fact that he would halt the delivery of certain weaponry in the event of a full-scale attack on Rafah. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has come under growing criticism for Israel’s handling of the war, which it started in response to the Oct. 7 offensive conducted by Hamas.

According to authorities, some 1,200 people were murdered and 250 more were taken prisoner; of these, 125 are believed to be still in captivity in Gaza, and about a quarter are likely to have died.

Over three quarters of a million people have died in Gaza over the last seven months of fighting, local health officials have said. Aid organizations have issued dire warnings about the terrible circumstances facing inhabitants in the enclave, where a shortage of food and potable water might lead to a famine in certain areas.