(Rafah) The Civil Defense of the Gaza Strip announced Tuesday the death of 21 people in an Israeli strike on a camp for displaced people in the south of the Palestinian territory, two days after a similar bombardment in Rafah which provoked international outrage.
After almost eight months of a devastating war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, the UN Security Council is due to meet at 3:15 p.m. (Eastern time), at the request of Algeria, on Sunday’s bombing.
Around a million people have already fled Rafah since three weeks and the start of the Israeli army’s ground operation, according to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
Muhammad Al-Mughair, a Civil Defense official, said 21 people died Tuesday in an Israeli strike “targeting tents of displaced people west of Rafah.”
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry also reported 64 injuries.
The Israeli army, for its part, indicated that it had not struck “the humanitarian zone in Al-Mawasi”, in reference to an area which had been designated as a refuge for displaced people from Rafah.
PHOTO EYAD BABA, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Image of the Rafah camp, devastated by an Israeli strike.
The Gaza Health Ministry described Tuesday’s strike as “another massacre”, following the Israeli bombardment on Sunday evening in a camp for displaced people in the Tal Al-Sultan neighborhood of Rafah, which left 45 dead and 249 injured. according to this same source.
An operation still “limited” to Rafah, according to Washington
The United States still believes that the Israeli operation in Rafah remains “limited”, two days after a deadly bombing in this town in the south of the Gaza Strip which provoked a wave of international indignation, the ministry said on Tuesday American Defense.
The White House ruled last week that the Israeli military operation in Rafah was “targeted and limited”, but President Joe Biden did not comment on Sunday’s strike in a displaced persons camp, which killed 45 dead and 249 injured according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
“We still believe that what is happening in Rafah, what the Israeli army is doing, is limited in scope,” Sabrina Singh, deputy Pentagon spokesperson, said during a press briefing.
“We take what happened this weekend very seriously. We have all seen the images, they are absolutely horrific,” she added. “Do we support what happened this weekend? Of course we don’t want to see this kind of death.”
Asked about the presence of Israeli tanks in downtown Rafah, according to witnesses, Sabrina Singh repeated: “Nothing has changed from what I have already said. We still believe this is a limited operation.”
” Partner in crime ”
Also in Rafah, a witness said Tuesday he saw Israeli tanks deployed in the city center. Other residents said they had not been able to move since the tanks arrived.
“People are staying in their homes for the moment, because anyone who moves is targeted by Israeli drone fire,” said resident Abdel Khatib.
At a time when condemnations are increasing around the world in the face of Israeli military operations, Spain, Norway and Ireland officially recognized the State of Palestine on Tuesday, provoking the fury of Israel which sees it as a reward for Hamas, which took power in 2007 in the Gaza Strip.
PHOTO VALENTIN RAKOVSKY, AFP
Cartogram of United Nations member countries recognizing the State of Palestine, as of May 28, 2024.
The war was triggered by an attack carried out on October 7 on Israeli soil by Hamas commandos infiltrated from the Gaza Strip, resulting in the death of more than 1,189 people, mostly civilians, according to a new count carried out Tuesday by the AFP based on the latest official figures available.
Video of a hostage
Of the 252 people taken as hostages, 121 are still detained in Gaza, of whom 37 have died according to the Israeli army.
In retaliation, Israel promised to annihilate Hamas and launched an offensive that left at least 36,096 dead, mostly civilians, according to data from the Health Ministry of the Hamas-led Gaza government.
Islamic Jihad, an ally of Hamas, released a video on Tuesday of a hostage, identified by Israeli media as Sacha Trupanov, a 28-year-old Israeli-Russian.
This video “is further proof that the Israeli government must give a clear mandate to the negotiating team, which can lead to an agreement for the return of all the hostages,” says the Forum of Families of Hostages in Israel.
Qatar, the United States and Egypt have been engaged for months in talks aimed at obtaining a lasting truce in Gaza, accompanied by the release of the hostages. Without progress. A media outlet close to Egyptian intelligence services indicated on Tuesday that Egypt is “intensifying efforts” to resume these talks.
Before Tuesday’s strike, AFP correspondents in Rafah and witnesses had reported heavy aerial bombardments and artillery fire in the west of this border town with Egypt. They saw hundreds of Palestinians flee, including Tal Al-Sultan.
PHOTO JEHAD ALSHRAFI, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Palestinians flee the southern Gaza town of Rafah during an Israeli ground and air offensive in the town.
This escape is taking place “with no safe place to go, under bombardment, without water or food, among mountains of garbage”, indicated UNRWA on X, stressing that “day after day, it becomes almost impossible to escape. provide assistance and protection” to the population.
“We didn’t sleep because there were bombings everywhere,” testified Faten Jouda, a 30-year-old woman living in Tal Al-Sultan, in the northwest of the city. ” It was scary “.
End of medical evacuations
Israeli soldiers have been carrying out a ground operation in Rafah since the beginning of May, claiming to want to eliminate the last Hamas battalions there, which led to the closure of the border crossing with Egypt, vital for the delivery of humanitarian aid.
PHOTO JEHAD ALSHRAFI, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Displaced Palestinians inspect their tents destroyed by Israeli shelling, next to an UNRWA installation west of the town of Rafah.
Since then, “all medical evacuations have abruptly stopped,” meaning more people are dying while waiting for care, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
Aid delivery via the U.S.-built temporary pier was further suspended after that facility was damaged due to weather conditions, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
An AFP correspondent also reported bombings and shootings in Gaza City, in the north of the territory. The Hamas Health Ministry counted at least 46 deaths in 24 hours across the Gaza Strip.
PHOTO LEO CORREA, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Smoke rises after an explosion in the Gaza Strip, seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, May 28, 2024.
After Sunday’s strike, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regretted “a tragic accident”.
The United States said it was “deeply saddened” by the number of Palestinians killed in the strike, and said it was awaiting the results of the Israeli investigation.
The UN also called for a “full and transparent” investigation.
The Palestinian Civil Defense reported numerous “charred” bodies in the fire which ravaged the Barkasat displaced persons camp, managed by UNRWA.
The Israeli army said Tuesday that its munitions used in Sunday’s strike could not have “single-handedly” caused the fire.