Gaza Genocideupdated 1h ago3 min read
MapWhite House Condemns Israeli Rafah Strike; John Kirby Says US Won’t Change Policy
“The Israeli army claims they were targeting militants, but it is not an excuse to strike an area full of tents”
“But he insisted the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) used their ‘best efforts not to harm those uninvolved’”
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL · Cropped for layout
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
US condemns loss of life in Rafah camp strike. White House says no change to policy toward Israel.
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Rafah strike, US stance
The White House condemned the “loss of life” from an Israeli strike on a displaced persons camp in Rafah, while National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the US would not change policy and maintained that Israel was continuing to investigate.
Kirby told reporters, “We certainly condemn the loss of life,” and he added, “Now they're investigating it. So let's let them investigate it and see what they come up with,” as he rejected the idea that President Joe Biden would act only after seeing “charred bodies.”
At least 45 people were killed, mostly women and children, and nearly 250 injured in the strike, and the attack took place near the logistics base of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in Tal al-Sultan.
The Guardian described the attack’s aftermath in Rafah, saying it took nearly half an hour for the first ambulances and firefighters to reach the stretch of blazing tents in the Kuwait peace camp.
Zuhair, a 36-year-old lawyer, said, “I saw bodies everywhere. Children burning.”
Netanyahu calls it mishap
Benjamin Netanyahu told Israel’s parliament that the strike which killed scores of displaced Palestinians in Rafah on Sunday was a “tragic mishap,” and he insisted Israel Defense Forces used their “best efforts not to harm those uninvolved.” Netanyahu said, “In Rafah we already evacuated about one million non-combatant residents and despite our utmost effort not to harm non-combatants, something unfortunately went tragically wrong,” while he vowed, “We are investigating the incident and will reach conclusions because this is our policy.” At least 45 people were killed according to the Hamas-run health ministry, and hundreds more were treated for severe burns, fractures and shrapnel wounds.
The Guardian described the same Rafah night as a scene where there had been no warning and, for many long minutes, no help, with Zuhair saying, “I saw heads without bodies, the injured running around in pain.” Sharif Warsh Agha, a driver, said, “I heard a woman screaming for help for her sister.”
Health strain and next steps
UN News said the Rafah camp attack heightens focus on dwindling health resources, and it reported that UN agencies reiterated their call for an urgent ceasefire and humanitarian access after Israeli air strikes on Sunday killed 45 people, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health.
WHO spokesperson Dr. Margaret Harris told journalists in Geneva, “This is one of the hardest things for a doctor or nurse as you want to help, but you don’t have what it takes,” and UN News added that electricity and high-level medical services were scarce after nearly eight months of war.
WHO confirmed that three of its supply trucks managed to cross the Kerem Shalom border since the incursion began in early May, while 60 vehicules were stuck in Egypt owing to the closure of the Rafah crossing into Gaza.
UN News warned that fuel shortages were compounding the crisis, and it said that “All the hospitals are really struggling and making decisions about what they can do,” while UNICEF said bakeries and water desalination plants had received only 10 per cent of the supply they require in the past week.
Josep Borrell called Sunday’s strike “horrifying,” and the EU insisted Israel respect an International Court of Justice ruling to halt strikes on Rafah.