The UN Security Council is set to meet Tuesday to discuss the situation in Rafah following an Israeli airstrike that killed 45 Palestinians sheltering
The U.N. Security Council is set to meet Tuesday to discuss the situation in Rafah following an Israeli airstrike that killed 45 Palestinians sheltering in a refugee camp and wounded 200 others.
U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths called the attack “utterly unacceptable” and criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s explanation that what happened in Rafah was a “tragic mistake.”
“Whether the attack was a war crime or a ‘tragic mistake,’ for the people of Gaza, there is no debate,” Griffiths said in a statement late Monday. “What happened last night was the latest – and possibly most cruel – abomination. To call it ‘a mistake’ is a message that means nothing for those killed, those grieving, and those trying to save lives.”
Griffiths said the U.N. “warned that a military operation in Rafah would lead to a slaughter” and added that there are no safe areas or humanitarian zones in Gaza.
Israel said it killed two senior Hamas militants in the attack.
‘Despite our best effort, not to harm those not involved, unfortunately a tragic mistake happened last night. We are investigating the case,’ Netanyahu told the Israeli parliament.
Netanyahu has repeatedly said Israel needs to carry out an offensive in Rafah in order to achieve its goal of ensuring Hamas cannot operate in Gaza and threaten Israel in the future.
