The International Court of Justice on Friday ordered Israel to immediately halt its military assault on Rafah, citing an “immediate risk” to Palestinians. Then on Sunday, two Israeli airstrikes on a tent camp where displaced civilians were sheltering ignited a deadly fire that killed at least 45 people and wounded 249 other people in Rafah, the Gaza city where more than 1 million people are seeking refuge in dire conditions. Israeli tanks
also advanced into central Rafah for the first time. Despite
international condemnation and world leaders calling for an investigation into the attack and for Israel to halt its military offensive in Rafah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
said that the strike was “a tragic accident,” but gave
no indication of curtailing his offensive in Rafah. The Israeli military said the strike used “precise munitions” to kill two senior Hamas leaders, and claimed “our munitions alone could not have ignited a fire of this size” – suggesting that a secondary explosion — possibly of a weapons cache — was likely the cause of the fire. Biden,
meanwhile, is not altering his policy toward Israel
and the White House said the Israeli strike on a tent camp
hadn’t violated his “red line” because it wasn’t “a major ground operation.” The White House, however, suggested that the attack on “innocent Palestinians [is] heartbreaking” and that “Israel must take every precaution possible to protect civilians.” (
New York Times /
CNN /
NBC News /
Wall Street Journal /
Axios)