World Horrified by Israel’s Attack That Set Ablaze Rafah Tent Camp

Monday, 27 May 2024 5:11 PM

Press TV

The Israeli military has carried out yet another heinous attack on the Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.

In an overnight airstrike on a tent camp in a designated safe zone in Rafah, the military killed dozens of people.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said the dead included women and children, with many “burned alive” inside their tents.

Gaza's civil defense agency said the airstrike set off a fire that tore through a displacement center in northwestern Rafah.

"We saw charred bodies and dismembered limbs ... We also saw cases of amputations, wounded children, women and the elderly," said agency official Mohammad al-Mughayyir.

The horrifying news sent shock waves through the globe, prompting world leaders to call for the immediate implementation of a World Court ruling to halt the regime’s invasion of the last refuge of Palestinians in Gaza.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan'ani condemned the brutal massacre of the displaced Palestinians, calling for a practical response and strong condemnation from the international community.

"It is not surprising that the terrorist regime of Israel, which one day bombs the lines of refugees waiting for humanitarian aid and another day turns hospitals into blood and dust, has this time carried out a massive massacre of civilians, mostly women and children, by attacking the tents of Palestinian refugees in Rafah" he said in a message on X.

The United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) said in a message on X that the images from Rafah are yet another testament that Gaza is “hell on earth.”

The Palestinian Authority condemned the regime’s military for “deliberately targeting civilians.”

“The perpetration of this heinous massacre by the Israeli occupation forces is a challenge to all international legitimacy resolutions,” the presidency said in a Monday statement.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri called the attack a “massacre” saying the United States is responsible for aiding the regime.

The death toll from Israeli airstrikes against displaced people’s tents in the refugee-packed city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip rises to at least 50 people.

Qatar said the attack is a grave violation of international laws that will aggravate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The attack could hinder mediation efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, according to a foreign ministry statement.

Qatar, alongside the US and Egypt, has been engaged in months of talks aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country would do “everything possible” to hold “barbaric” head of the regime, Benjamin Netanyahu, to account over the deadly strikes.

“We will do everything possible to hold these barbarians and murderers accountable who have nothing to do with humanity.”

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates joined the chorus of condemnations, calling on the international community to intervene immediately.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan warned that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is completely unacceptable.

Jordan also condemned the “ongoing war crimes committed by Israeli occupation forces in Gaza.”

“This act defies the rulings of the International Court of Justice and constitutes a severe violation of international law and international humanitarian law,” the foreign ministry said.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he was outraged over the regime’s strikes against displaced Palestinians.

"These operations must stop. There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian civilians," Macron said on X in English.

He called “for full respect for international law and an immediate ceasefire."

The European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he was "horrified" by deadly strikes on the tented camp.

"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.”

He said Tel Aviv must abide by the ICJ ruling to stop its offensive in Rafah.

Egypt also condemned the “deliberate bombardment” of the camp, calling on Israel to “implement the measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).”

Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said the bombing of Rafah was “one more day with innocent Palestinian civilians being killed.”

The International Court of Justice, the top United Nations court, has ordered Israel to halt its offensive in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah.

The gravity of the attack, he said “is even larger” because it comes after the ICJ order directing the regime to halt attacks on Rafah.

Ireland’s Foreign Minister Micheal Martin described the attack as “barbaric.”

And his Norwegian counterpart Espen Barth Eide described the attacks as a “material breach of the decision of the highest court of the world.”

“It is compulsory. It’s binding,” he said referring to the ICJ order to halt the attacks on Rafah.

The African Union chair Moussa Faki Mahamat also condemned the attack in a message on X. "Israel continues to violate international law with impunity and in contempt of an ICJ ruling two days ago ordering an end to its military action in Rafah."

The International Court of Justice on Friday ordered Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah.

The Jewish advocacy group Voice for Peace has also demanded an end to the genocide in Gaza.

“We will never forget the images emerging from Rafah tonight. Human beings, including babies, were burned alive and torn apart. This genocide must end, it must end now.”

The US-based group said it holds the administration of US President Joe Biden, in attention to Israel, “responsible for the slaughter of over 36,000 Palestinians.”