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The Biden administration expressed sympathy after dozens of civilians were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah over the weekend, but signaled it would wait for a full Israeli investigation to play out before taking any action.
“You’ve all seen the images, they’re heartbreaking, they’re horrific. There should be no innocent life lost here as a result of this conflict,” National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said during a White House press briefing.
“Israel, of course, has a right to go after Hamas. And we understand that this strike did kill two senior Hamas terrorists who are directly responsible for attacks against the Israeli people,” he continued.
But eliminating those two Hamas targets cost at least 45 Palestinians their lives and inflicted gruesome injuries on scores of others when the strike ignited a large fire that tore through a nearby encampment, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
SEE ALSO: U.N. Security Council holds emergency meeting on deadly Rafah airstrike
The strike is the single deadliest attack since Israel launched its offensive in Rafah more than two weeks ago and graphic images from its aftermath have prompted international fury, further isolating Israel on the international stage and escalating pressure on the Biden administration to pull back military support.
In a statement issued Tuesday, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the attack “in the strongest terms,” declaring “the horror and suffering must stop immediately.
