Israel’s bombardment of Rafah draws condemnations
Several countries voiced outrage on Monday over Israeli strikes on a tented camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah that Gaza officials said killed at least 45 people.
Egypt condemned what it called the “deliberate bombardment by Israeli forces of displaced peoples’ tents” in Rafah.
Saudi Arabia’s ministry of foreign affairs said that it strongly condemned and denounced the “continued massacres of the Israeli occupation forces.”
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry issued a statement calling on Israel to “implement the measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concerning an immediate cessation of military operations” in Rafah.
The ministry condemned the strike as “a new flagrant violation of the provisions of international humanitarian law.”
It deplored the “tragic event” and denounced the “targeting of defenseless civilians” and “a systematic policy aimed at widening the scope of death and destruction in the Gaza Strip to make it uninhabitable.”
Jordan also expressed its condemnation, accusing Israel of committing “ongoing war crimes.”
Amman said the bombardment in Rafah “defies the rulings of the International Court of Justice and constitutes a severe violation of international law and international humanitarian law.”
The United Arab Emirates condemned what it said was Israel targeting tents of displaced people in Rafah, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
It stressed the importance of implementing the ICJ’s ruling that demanded Israel immediately halt its military operations in Rafah.
The Palestinian presidency and Hamas have accused Israel of committing a “massacre” by targeting a center for displaced people near Rafah, in the far south of the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s army said it had killed two senior Hamas officials in an air strike on a compound in the city and said it was aware of reports that civilians had been harmed in the incident and that it was “under review.”
“The strike was carried out against legitimate targets under international law,” it said.
Separately, mediator nation Qatar said that Israel’s latest strikes could hinder talks towards a truce and hostage release deal.
The foreign ministry voiced “concern that the bombing will complicate ongoing mediation efforts and hinder reaching an agreement for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.”
Kuwait’s foreign ministry also decried the Israeli attack on the camp housing displaced Palestinians near Rafah, saying the it exposed Israel’s “blatant war crimes and unprecedented genocide to the whole world.”
It called for “immediate and firm intervention by the international community.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country would do “everything possible” to hold “barbaric” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to account over deadly strikes in Rafah.
“We will do everything possible to hold these barbarians and murderers accountable who have nothing to do with humanity,” Erdogan said.
For his part, French President Emmanuel Macron an demanded an “immediate ceasefire.”
“These operations must stop. There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian civilians,” Macron said on X in English.
“I call for full respect for international law and an immediate ceasefire.”
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he was “horrified” by the deadly Israeli strikes, adding that the attacks “must stop immediately.”
“Horrified by news coming out of Rafah on Israeli strikes killing dozens of displaced persons, including small children. I condemn this in the strongest terms,” Borrell wrote on X.
