‘Headless’ child, charred remains: Inside Israel’s deadly strike on Rafah tent camp (2024)

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Israel’s bombing of an area in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah that set off a fire across a camp sheltering displaced civilians has triggered widespread global condemnation. At least 45 people died in the Israeli airstrike late Sunday (26 May) night, according to local officials.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday called the strike a “tragic mistake”. “We are investigating the case and will draw conclusions, because this is our policy," he reportedly said in an address to the Israeli parliament Knesset.

Israel attacks Rafah tent camp

Chaotic scenes, charred remains and a thick smoke emerged from the Rafah camp targeted by Israel on Sunday night. Eyewitnesses recounted witnessing ‘dismembered’ bodies and loud cries.

“We saw charred bodies and dismembered limbs … We also saw cases of amputations, wounded children, women and the elderly,” Mohammad al-Mughayyir, a Gaza civil defence agency official told AFP.

The airstrike on the encampment came when some were asleep, many had finished night prayers and others had assembled with their families.

“We were sitting down in peace when we suddenly heard the explosion,” Layan al-Fayoum, a survivor of the attack, told Middle East Eye. “It was so sudden. The bombs came down without a warning.”

Another survivor recalled, “We had just done with the evening prayers. Our children were asleep … suddenly we heard a loud sound and there was fire all around us. The children were screaming … the sound was terrifying,” as per France 24.

Footage shared on social media showed horrific scenes from the site, including a man holding what seemed to be the headless body of a small child, reported NBC News.

Palestinian witnesses and Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency Sanad allege Israel “deliberately” attacked the camp sheltering civilians in Rafah’s Tal as-Sultan area.

Citing the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), the Wafa news agency reported the casualties included women and children, with many “burned alive” inside their tents, as per Al Jazeera.

According to the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), a trauma stabilisation point that it supports in Tal al-Sultan received 28 dead and 180 wounded people, with many suffering “from traumatic injuries, notably due to shrapnel, fractures and burns”.

Most of the patients we treated had shrapnel wounds, fractures, traumatic injuries, and burns.

“This Israeli attack on a populated camp in a so-called ‘safe zone’ in Rafah shows the complete disregard for the lives of civilians in Gaza.”

— Doctors w/o Borders (@MSF_USA) May 27, 2024

The Gaza Health Ministry initially stated at least 35 people were killed in the camp in Tal al-Sultan, later revising the death toll to 45.

According to the spokesman for the Palestinian Civil Defense in Rafah, the targeted area was a designated “humanitarian area” next to warehouses of the United Nations.“This massacre is the largest in the city of Rafah in months,” he told NBC News.

Israel’s claims

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) initially claimed it used “precise ammunition” to target two senior Hamas leaders and not a designated humanitarian area.

It said the incident was “under review” and that it regrets “any harm to non-combatants during the war”.

As per NBC News, in a subsequent statement, the IDF said the airstrike was based on “prior intelligence information regarding the presence of the senior Hamas terrorists at the site.” It said that “a number of steps were taken (before the strike) to reduce the risk of harming uninvolved civilians” and that “it was assessed that there would be no expected harm to uninvolved civilians.”

Describing the attack as “very grave”, Israel said an investigation would be launched. “The details of the incident are still under an investigation, which we are committed to conducting to the fullest extent,” Major-General Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi told a news conference, as per Al Jazeera.

The strike came hours after Hamas on Sunday, for the first time in months, fired a barrage of rockets at Tel Aviv and other areas of central Israel. Israeli air defences intercepted most of the rockets and no casualties were reported.

Global outcry over Israel’s attack

Israel faced international condemnation for targeting a designated safe zone despite the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that Israel must halt its Rafah offensive.

Accusing Israel of “deliberately targeting” civilians, the Palestinian presidency said in a statement, “The perpetration of this heinous massacre by the Israeli occupation forces is a challenge to all international legitimacy resolutions.”

The United States, Israel’s top ally, asked Israel to “take every precaution” to protect civilians. “Israel has a right to go after Hamas, and we understand this strike killed two senior Hamas terrorists who are responsible for attacks against Israeli civilians. But as we’ve been clear, Israel must take every precaution possible to protect civilians,” a National Security Council spokesperson was quoted as saying by Reuters.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced the Israeli strike on Monday, saying the attack“killed scores of innocent civilians who were only seeking shelter from this deadly conflict.”

“There is no safe place in Gaza. This horror must stop,” Guterres said in a social media post.

Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, dubbed the attack “horrifying”. He said Israel must abide by theICJruling and stop its offensive in Rafah.

French president Emmanuel Macron said he was “outraged” by the strikes. “These operations must stop. There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian civilians,” he wrote on X.

Condemning the “deliberate bombardment”, Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on Israel to “implement the measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concerning an immediate cessation of military operations” in Rafah.

In a strong rebuke, Italy’s defence minister Guido Crosetto saidIsrael’s attacks were no longer justifiable. “There is an increasingly difficult situation, in which the Palestinian people are being squeezed without regard for the rights of innocent men, women and children who have nothing to do with Hamas and this can no longer be justified,” he said. “We are watching the situation with despair.”

Canadian foreign minister Melanie Joly called for an “immediate ceasefire.” “We are horrified by strikes that killed Palestinian civilians in Rafah. Canada does not support an Israeli military operation in Rafah. This level of human suffering must come to an end,” she wrote on X.

Several Arab states, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Qatar, also decried Israel’s strikes.

As per Associated Press (AP), the UN Security Council is set to meet on Tuesday afternoon for an emergency closed meeting to discuss the situation in Rafah at the request of Algeria, the Arab representative on the council.

With input from agencies

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