Closing summary
Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
At least 45 people have been killed after an Israeli airstrike that caused a huge blaze at a tented area for displaced people in Rafah, medics have said. Gaza’s health ministry said about half of the dead were women, children and older adults. The Israeli strike, one of the deadliest single incidents in the eight-month war to date, came two days after the international court of justice’s ruling ordering Israel to stop its operation in Rafah immediately.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, described the Rafah airstrike as a “tragic mishap” and vowed to continue fighting in Gaza. He claimed the incident occurred “despite our best efforts not to hurt them”. Israel’s top military prosecutor described the aistrike as “very grave” and said an investigation was under way. The Israeli military said its air force struck a Hamas compound and that the attack was carried out with “precise ammunition and on the basis of precise intelligence”. Hundreds of people gathered in Israeli cities on Monday following the Rafah attack to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Images of charred and dismembered children in Rafah after the Israeli strike have caused an outcry from global leaders and put ceasefire talks in jeopardy. Qatar, a key mediator between Israel and Hamas in attempts to secure a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages, said the Rafah casualties would complicate the protracted negotiations. Israeli media reported that Hamas had decided to pull out of the latest proposed talks over what its senior leadership described as a massacre.
The US, Israel’s staunchest ally and weapons supplier, described the images from the aftermath of the Rafah attack as “devastating” and “heartbreaking”. A statement from a US national security spokesperson said: “Israel has a right to go after Hamas … but as we’ve been clear, Israel must take every precaution possible to protect civilians.”
EU foreign ministers have agreed to call a meeting with Israel to discuss its actions in its military offensive in Rafah, the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has said. Borrell said he was “horrified” by the news coming out of Rafah following the Israeli airstrike on Sunday, adding that “there is no safe place in Gaza”. He also said he had received preliminary approval from ministers to revive an EU civilian mission in Rafah.
The UN Palestinian refugee agency, Unrwa, said reports of attacks on families seeking shelter in Rafah were “horrifying”. The UN’s humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, warned Israel that “such impunity cannot continue” after the deadly Rafah airstrike. The head of the UN children’s agency (Unicef), Catherine Russell, said the reported killing of children sheltering in makeshift tents was “unconscionable”. The UN’s Middle East envoy, Tor Wennesland, urged Israel to conduct a “thorough and transparent” investigation”.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said he is “outraged” by the Israeli airstrike on Rafah. “These operations must stop. There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian citizens. I call for full respect for international law and an immediate ceasefire,” he posted to X on Monday. Italy’s defence minister, Guido Crosetto, said Israeli attacks on Palestinian civilians in Gaza were no longer justifiable in one of the strongest criticisms Rome has made so far against Israel’s war.
Desperately needed aid deliveries to Gaza have ground to a halt, as the Rafah border crossing, and the nearby Kerem Shalom crossing are in effect blocked by the fierce fighting. About 200 aid trucks were supposed to enter Gaza through Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing on Sunday after an agreement was reached with Egypt, but UN and Palestinian officials said on Monday that no aid supplies have been distributed.
At least one person was killed and several civilians injured after an Israeli strike targeting a motorcycle in southern Lebanon on Monday hit next to a hospital entrance, local health officials said. Most of those injured were “civilians who were in front of the hospital”, the director of the Salah Ghandour hospital in Bint Jbeil said.
An Egyptian border guard was killed in a shooting near the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, where Israeli forces are deployed, according to Egypt’s military. Israel’s military said it was investigating reports of an exchange of fire between Israeli and Egyptian soldiers. Security incidents between the two countries have been rare but tensions have soared since Israeli forces seized the Rafah crossing.
Updated
Catherine Russell, the head of the UN children’s agency (Unicef) has described the Israeli airstrike on Sunday that reportedly killed children sheltering in makeshift tents in Rafah as “unconscionable”.
In a statement posted to X, Russell called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the unconditional release of all hostages, and an end to the “senseless killing of children”. She wrote:
Images of burned children & families emerging from bombed tents in Rafah shocks us all. The reported killing of children sheltering in makeshift tents is unconscionable. For over 7 months, we’ve witnessed this tragedy unfold, resulting in thousands of children killed or injured.
Images of burned children & families emerging from bombed tents in #Rafah shocks us all. The reported killing of children sheltering in makeshift tents is unconscionable. For over 7 months, we've witnessed this tragedy unfold, resulting in thousands of children killed or injured.
— Catherine Russell (@unicefchief) May 27, 2024
