World Calls for Action After Israeli Massacre in Rafah

By Al Mayadeen English

27 May 2024 12:48

"Israel" challenges international decisions and laws by committing the massacre in Rafah, sending a clear message to the ICJ that nothing will stop the massacres.

On Sunday evening, the Israeli occupation forces committed a new massacre against dozens of displaced persons by bombing their tents set up in UNRWA warehouses in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, an alleged safe zone.

State officials and international institutions were quick to condemn the massacre, calling on "Israel" to halt its aggressive and monstrous attacks against the Palestinians. 

Palestinian Authority slams 'Israel’s' 'heinous massacre' in Tal as-Sultan

According to the Wafa news agency, a spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has denounced the Israeli assault on Tal as-Sultan as a "massacre that exceeds all boundaries."

Nabil Abu Rudeineh "stressed the urgent need for an intervention to stop the crimes committed against the Palestinian people immediately" and called the "heinous massacre" a challenge to international orders, including "the lucid and candid ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordering Israel to cease its military offensive against the city of Rafah and provide protection to the Palestinian people."

Abu Rudeineh held the Biden administration accountable for Israeli crimes, urging Washington to "force Israel to halt the madness and genocide it is perpetrating in Gaza."

MSF condemns Israeli attack on displaced Palestinians

MSF expressed horror at "Israel's" attack on the camp for displaced Palestinians in Tal as-Sultan, stating that the "deadly event" underscores once again that nowhere is safe in Gaza.

The medical charity reported that more than 15 martyred Palestinians and dozens of wounded were transported to a trauma stabilization point in Gaza.

Amnesty calls for war crimes probe into three Israeli attacks on Gaza

Amnesty International is calling on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate three Israeli attacks that resulted in the martyrdom of 44 Palestinian civilians, including 32 children, in the Gaza Strip in April.

The attacks include one that killed children playing football at the al-Maghazi refugee camp on April 16, as well as two strikes on residential buildings in Rafah on April 19 and 20, according to the rights group.

The rights group stated that there was no evidence of military targets in or around the affected locations and no indication of prior warning.

"Our findings offer crucial evidence of unlawful attacks by the Israeli military as the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court applies for arrest warrants for senior Israeli and Hamas officials, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. As the Israeli military continues to escalate its ground incursion in Rafah, these cases also illustrate the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire," said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International’s senior director for research, advocacy, policy, and campaigns.

"The cases documented here illustrate a clear pattern of attacks over the past seven months in which the Israeli military has flouted international law, killing Palestinian civilians with total impunity and displaying a callous disregard for human lives."

Balakrishnan Rajagopal, the UN special rapporteur on the right to housing, has urged action against "Israel" following its recent attack on displaced Palestinians in Rafah.

"Attacking women and children while they cower in their shelters in Rafah is a monstrous atrocity. We need concerted global action to stop Israel’s actions now," he said in a post on X.

Following "Israel's" recent attack on Rafah, US Congressman Ro Khanna urged the Israeli prime minister to halt the aggression on the southern Gaza city.

"Netanyahu must immediately halt the military offensive into Rafah," Khanna said in a post on X.

"The horrific loss of innocent lives today with the bombing of a refugee camp underscores the moral urgency of stopping the Rafah campaign," said Khanna, a progressive Democrat from California.

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territory, characterized "Israel’s" attack on the tent camp in Rafah as "further horror."

"This cruelty, along with blatant defiance of the int’l law and system, is unacceptable," she said in a post on X. "The #GazaGenocide‌ will not easily end without external pressure: Israel must face sanctions, justice, suspension of agreements, trade, partnership and investments, as well as participation in int’l forums."

Humza Yousaf, the former first minister of Scotland, wrote, "Days after the ICJ orders Israel to halt its military offensive in Rafah, the Israeli Government bombs displaced people living in tents. Innocent men, women & children were dismembered and burnt alive. Bear witness to the images and ask yourself, are you on the right side of history?" 

Jagmeet Singh, a Canadian legislator and leader of the New Democratic Party, wrote, "Images of the IDFs airstrike hitting a camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah are horrifying. Images so terrible I won’t share them. The world is failing the people of Gaza. Canada is failing the people of Gaza."

The foreign ministers of Spain, Norway, and Ireland—the three countries set to formally recognize Palestine as a state on Tuesday— addressed a gathering at the Spanish embassy in Brussels on Monday.

Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said, "I think all three of us have for months have been saying that we’re worried that the Israeli style of warfare in Gaza has been in breach of international humanitarian law. Now we know".

"We’ve had a compulsory order from the International Court of Justice ordering Israel to stop its attack in Rafa," adding that "It is compulsory. It’s binding, which means that continuing… in Rafah is in material breach of the decision of the highest court of the world."

Ireland’s FM condemns Rafah camp attack

Ireland’s foreign minister condemned last night’s attack on a tent camp in Rafah as "barbaric." "Gaza is a very small enclave, densely populated," he said, emphasizing, "One cannot bomb an area like that without shocking consequences in terms of innocent children and civilians."

"We would urge Israel to stop, to stop now, in terms of the military operation in Rafah."

We have to raise our voice: Spanish FM

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, speaking at a press conference in Spain with his Irish and Norwegian counterparts said, "Yesterday’s bombing [on Rafah] is one more day with innocent Palestinian civilians being killed."

"This stresses what… the three of our three counties have been calling for for a long time.. an immediate ceasefire."

"But the gravity is even larger because it comes after a decision taken by the International Court of Justice that, once again, I want to recall that are binding and compulsory for all parties."

The foreign minister emphasized the importance of not only an immediate ceasefire but also supporting international law and the United Nations.

EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell's statement

"And then there is the, still more important, still more important, is the ruling of the International Court of Justice, which is the core of international justice. In order to act above the national level, it's at the core of the United Nations Charter," EU Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell said.

Borrell highlighted that there should be respect for the implementation of the Court's decision, which "Israel" did not do. "Israel" proceeded in its attacks after being asked to stop. 

French Officials condemn Rafah massacre

French politicians called on the government to take action following "Israel's" bombing of a displaced people's camp in the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Sunday.

After the strikes, images from the camp rapidly circulated on social media, prompting opposition politicians to voice their outrage on their social media platforms, condemning the actions of the Israeli government.

A former deputy of the French National Assembly, Jean-Luc Melenchon, described the events in Rafah as "horrifying". "The abominable massacre of (people in) tents in the refugee camp in Gaza epitomizes the actions of the war criminals and their leader," said Melenchon.

He called for all possible forms of pressure on "Israel" to halt this "horror," urging France to cease collaboration with the Israeli government, impose an embargo on arms exports, and recognize the Palestinian state. Melenchon accused French President Emmanuel Macron of "doing nothing" regarding the events in the region.

'Burned Palestinian refugees alive'

Thomas Portes, a lawmaker from the opposition Defiant France Party, wrote on X, "This so-called ‘incident’ is the assassination of dozens of civilians, some of whom were burned alive following the fire in the refugee camp tents."

"Tomorrow, the international community must raise the question of the future of the IDF as a military force," he said.

"The images coming from Rafah are unbearable. They are the result of the cowardice of governments that refuse to act," adding that "Those in France who continue to refuse to sanction Israel and impose an arms embargo tonight have blood on their hands," he emphasized.