Rafah Tragedies and the World Reactions

At least 40 people were killed and 65 others were injured in the airstrikes carried out by the Israeli warplanes in Rafah refugee camp on Sunday night. Officials of the Gaza civil defense said that the Israeli regime's attack on the northwest of Rafah is a full-scale massacre. 

"We witnessed the amputation of body organs of many innocent Palestinians during these barbaric attacks that also left extensive burns on their bodies," the organization said.

Officials of the Gaza civil defense stressed that the Israeli forces targeted areas that earlier were flagged as safe zones for the displaced civilians, but the Israeli forces do not differentiate between military zones and civilian or so-called safe zones. Reports suggested that the attack was carried out with 8 missiles, leaving a majority of tents burning.

While the Israeli forces were expected to stop their attacks on the refugee camp following the global backlash on the Sunday attack, on Monday they launched their second attack on Rafah camp. Gaza health ministry said that at least 45 civilians, including women and children, were killed in this air raid and tens of others were injured.

Mohammad al-Moghayer, a senior official of civil defense, told AFP that relief workers of this agency have seen burnt bodies and dismembered organs, as well as cases of amputation of injured children, women and the elderly. 

These attacks are carried out at a time more than 1.5 million Palestinians have rushed to Rafah to escape the crimes of the occupiers in the north and center of Gaza, but they are not safe from the Israelis in this area either.

The UN special Rapporteur on human rights for Palestine pictured the peak of the Israeli crimes in Rafah by saying that Israeli soldiers set fire to the camp of Palestinian refugees in Rafah, which caused Palestinian refugees to burn alive. Francesca P. Albanese said: "Israel's attack on the Rafah refugee camp is an obvious challenge to international law and order. The genocide in Gaza will not end easily without external pressure. We should respond to Israel with sanctions and enforcement of justice and suspension of agreements. Israeli bullying and challenging of international laws and system is unacceptable." 

Accidental or intentional massacre? 

The repeated crimes of the Israeli army in the Rafah camp were such that the officials of this regime sought justifications to escape the criticism. In a humanitarian gesture, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the attack was a "tragic mistake". Netanyahu claimed: "We are investigating this incident and we will reach a conclusion because this is our policy."

The Israeli justifications come as the Israeli army earlier had stated that this region is safe and asked other Gazans to shelter there. Therefore, bombardment of this region once again proved that this regime does not respect any international laws and violates all of the humanitarian laws that stress the need to protect lives of civilians, especially when tents are their last resort and the place of concentration is the one recommended by the Israeli military. 

Tel Aviv officials claim that they targeted a compound belonging to Hamas and assassinated two senior leaders of this group, but the published pictures and videos and the statements of the Palestinian authorities based in Gaza showed that only the tents of the displaced people have been struck. 

Netanyahu claims that the crime in Rafah was a mistake, but the experience of eight months of war shows that the Israelis carry out their attacks in different areas of Gaza with complete and accurate information about their targets. But it seems that the Israeli mistakes are endless, and every day dozens of Palestinians lose their lives in ostensibly unintentional crimes. However, the world will not believe the false justifications of Netanyahu and his friends. 

Israel's recent crimes in Rafah come as Spain, Ireland and Norway, in response to the crimes of this regime in Gaza, on Tuesday officially recognized the independent state of Palestine. On the other hand, the ICJ Friday ordered Israel to end the war and genocide in Gaza. These international developments have enraged the hardliners in Tel Aviv. Therefore, broadening the crimes in Gaza and exerting more pressure on the Palestinians in the West Bank are reactions to the international community in show of defiance to warnings. 

With ongoing Israeli daily crimes that have turned Gaza into a hell on earth, the world community should work out a solution to stop Tel Aviv's slaughter machine and find a final settlement to the Palestinian conflict because sole addressing of the Israeli crimes in the UN Security Council does not do anything to assuage the Palestinian plight, especially that Israel's staunch backer the US vetoes any UNSC resolution calling for a ceasefire and gives the Israelis a leeway to shed Palestinian blood. Despite the repeated crimes of the occupiers in Gaza, the international order dominated by the West continues to allow the Israeli regime to commit massacres without feeling any responsibility. 

World condemnations 

The Israeli attack on Rafah has drawn waves of global reactions. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in an X post said: "I condemn Israel's actions which resulted in the deaths of many innocent civilians who were only seeking refuge to save their lives from this deadly conflict. There is no safe place in Gaza. This terrible and deadly operation must be stopped." 

The EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrel, for his part, described the Israeli attacks as horrible, saying: " I strongly condemn this attack and such attacks must stop immediately." 

The Egyptian foreign ministry in a statement said: " We strongly condemn the deliberate bombing of Palestinian refugees' tents by the Israeli army. The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has considered the bombing of Palestinian refugees' tents as a new crime by Israel, which is a clear violation of international laws and the provisions of the Geneva Convention. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt has asked the UN Security Council and other international organizations to act immediately to stop the attacks against the Gaza Strip and also to stop the Israeli army's attack on Rafah."

Jordan, too, condemned the Israeli crime, saying that what happened openly challenged the the ICJ rulings and was a violation of the international laws. 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar condemned this attack and announced in a statement that Israel's bombing of the south of the Gaza Strip complicates the ongoing mediation efforts and prevents the achievement of an immediate and permanent ceasefire agreement and a prisoner swap deal. 

Saudi Arabia condemned the attack and in a statement called on the international community to intervene immediately to stop what it called the Israeli massacre of Palestinians. 

The Foreign Ministry of Kuwait also condemned Israel's new aggression against the tents of the refugees in Rafah city in Gaza.

Oman stressed that these heinous actions require international deterrent intervention, including the imposition of international sanctions on Israel. 

The Sana’a-based Political Office of Yemen's Ansarullah Movement issued a statement, saying that it strongly condemns barbarous massacre of the displaced Palestinians in northwestern Rafah that led to martyrdom and injury of tens of civilians. The movement continued that the occupation's crime against the refugees is indicative of brutality and barbarism of the Israeli enemy. 

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor stated that Israel continues to massacre the displaced Palestinians in Rafah and ignore the ICJ ruling that calls for halt to invasion of this city.