On 26 May 2024, the

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...

attacked a displacement camp in

Tel al-Sultan Tel al-Sultan or Tall as-Sultan ( ar, معسكر تل السلطان) is one of eight Palestinian refugee camps in the Gaza Strip. It is located in the Rafah Governorate just north of Rafah city and Rafah Camp.Rafah, allegedly targeting a compound with two senior Hamas commanders. The attack set the compound on fire and killed between 45 and 50 Palestinians, including women and children, and injured over 200. Sometimes referred to as the Rafah tent massacre (مجزرة الخيم), it was the deadliest incident of the

Rafah offensive On 6 May 2024, Israel began a military offensive in and around the city of Rafah as part of Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip (2023–present), its invasion of the Gaza Strip during the Israel–Hamas war. Before the offensive, about 1.4 milli ...

. When Israel invaded Rafah and ordered the evacuation of its east, some citizens fled to other parts of the city, like Tel Al-Sultan, seeking safety. One week before the bombing, Israel had designated the neighborhood as a "safe zone" and dropped leaflets instructing Palestinians to move there. Two days before the attack, the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

ordered Israel to prevent genocidal acts in Rafah, widely recognized as calling for a halt to the offensive, but Israel interpreted the order differently and continued its operations. On the night of the incident, Israel struck the neighborhood with two U.S. made

GBU-39 The GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) is a precision-guided glide bomb that is intended to provide aircraft with the ability to carry a higher number of more accurate bombs. Most US Air Force aircraft will be able to carry (using the BRU-61/A ...

missiles. The strike ignited a fire in the "Kuwaiti Peace" tent camp, trapping and burning the civilians residing in it. Israel claimed the strike targeted a Hamas compound near the camp, accidentally causing the fire. However, independent investigations showed that the strike location was inside the camp itself. Images of the attack spread internationally, with them being described as "some of the worst" of the war. The attack received widespread condemnation, with some groups calling it a war crime and a

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

Background

After evacuation orders were issued by Israel during the Israel-Hamas war, many areas of Gaza became depopulated, with refugees primarily traveling to Rafah. Rafah became dense and overcrowded, with over 1.4 million civilians sheltering in the area. However, when Israel first invaded the city, it ordered the eastern neighborhoods evacuated. An estimated 950,000 civilians fled, going to other parts of southern Gaza designated as safe, including parts of Rafah. Two days before the attack, the

(ICJ) ordered Israel to prevent genocidal actions in Rafah. The order was widely interpreted as obliging Israel to stop the Rafah offensive, and the European Union said Israel was violating the order by continuing. However, Israel interpreted the order as merely to comply with international law, not necessarily stop the offensive. The Euro-Med Monitor reported that in the 48 hours since the order was issued, Israel had launched over 60 airstrikes in the city. The attack was noted to come shortly after Hamas launched rockets at

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, the first time in months. The IDF said eight rockets were fired from the Rafah area, though were intercepted.

Designation as a "safe zone"

Many sources reported that the area that Israel attacked had previously been designated by Israel as a "safe zone".

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca. ...

showed pictures of Israeli leaflets that read:

For your safety, the Israeli Defence Force is asking you to leave these areas immediately and to go to known shelters in Deir el Balah or the humanitarian area in Tel al-Sultan through Beach Road. And don't blame us after we warned you.

NPR reported that Israeli leaflets urging civilians to evacuate to Tel al-Sultan had been dropped one week before the bombing. Witnesses speaking to Agence France Press confirmed they only came to Tel al-Sultan on instructions from IDF leaflets. Abed Mohammed Al-Attar, whose family would later be killed in the attack, said the Israeli forces had told residents that this area was a safe zone. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) stated that the location had been designated by Israel as a "humanitarian area" and it was not included in areas that Israel's military ordered evacuated earlier this month.

Attack

On the night of 26 May, Israeli fighter jets struck the "Kuwaiti Peace" tent camp in Tel al-Sultan. The camp was noted to be from the largest UNRWA humanitarian aid storage warehouse in the Gaza Strip. Multiple people were killed and injured in the initial explosion. Witnesses reported "a deadly hail of shrapnel, then the sound of screaming". A dead woman was later found with shrapnel in her lungs and heart. A witness said that he heard an explosion, walked out of his house, and saw smoke in a nearby street. Survivors of the attack said it "burned people alive" and destroyed an entire block. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said civilians were trapped in the flames. A video verified by

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...

showed Palestinians screaming for help in tents "engulfed by flames" with civil defense crews attempting to stop the fire and rescue people. Other videos displayed burnt corpses, including one of a decapitated child. Paramedics later retrieved these bodies. The attack was described as a massacre by some media outlets. Israel stated it had targeted a Hamas compound and killed two senior Hamas commanders: the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

Chief of Staff Yassin Rabia and senior official Khaled Nagar, "in accordance with international law". John Kirby stated that Hamas confirmed the deaths of the two commanders. However, witnesses speaking to '' Mondoweiss'' and

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

said that no militants were found in the camp.

Casualties

The

Gaza Health Ministry The Gaza Health Ministry is the government agency responsible for healthcare and medical services in the Gaza Strip of the Palestinian territories. It operates under the administration of the Hamas authority that has run the territory since 200 ...

(GHM), stated the attack killed at least 45 people, and

ActionAid UK ActionAid is an international non-governmental organization whose stated primary aim is to work against poverty and injustice worldwide. ActionAid is a federation of 45 country offices that works with communities, often via local partner organis ...

said it killed 50. The GHM said that among the fatalities were at least 12 women, eight children, and three elderly. Doctors Without Borders said that dozens of civilians were injured, with the GHM eventually confirming 65 injuries. It later raised the number of injuries to over 200. Victims of the attack were rushed to the Emirati Hospital, but the GHM said that Rafah hospitals didn't have enough resources to deal with the number of injured people. The only hospital in Rafah had eight beds and no ICU.

Aftermath

Two days after the attack, the tent camp was again struck by Israel. By that time, Israel had attacked the city twice, killing at least 29 people. One family that initially stayed in the camp after the attack was killed, with two surviving brothers relocating to

Al-Mawasi Al-Mawasi ( ar, المواصي) is a Palestinian Bedouin town on the southern coast of the Gaza Strip, approximately one kilometer wide and fourteen kilometers long, that prior to Israel's unilateral disengagement plan in 2005 existed as a Palesti ...

. More than two weeks after the attack, the conclusions of the full IDF investigation had not been made public. The attack partially motivated American student protestors in

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

to create a third encampment during the university's alumni weekend.

Analysis and investigation

The attack drew multiple independent investigations and analyses from media outlets and military analysts. Israel also investigated the incident, saying it was a 'tragic mishap'. Other analyses argued that Israel deliberately targeted civilians.

Target of the attack

Israel said the target of the attack was a "Hamas compound" and two senior Hamas militants, whom it identified as Yassin Rabia and Khaled Nagar. On 3 June, an IDF investigation claimed that the military believed "there were no civilians" in the area of the strike. Earlier, the IDF released surveillance footage that showed civilians near the structure. In response, a military analyst questioned if Israel knew there were civilians nearby and accepted them as collateral damage. Satellite image analysis by

India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new onl ...

located the site of the airstrike to "Kuwait Peace Camp", leading the newspaper to conclude "satellite images show Israel targeting Rafah refugee camps". The ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' analyzed satellite imagery and found "more than a dozen tent-like structures" around the tin structures targeted. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' located the attack to the "edge of rows of tents" of the Kuwaiti camp, and quoted a resident who said this location was "a medical point surrounded by a lot of tents, in an area with more than 4,000 people". A ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' investigation concluded that Israel directly struck the camp, saying the metal structures targeted were part of the camp and intended for civilian use. Israeli newspaper

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

stated the IDF struck a "dense" area. In June,

said that analysis of the attack and interviews with survivors indicated that Israeli commanders should have known there were civilians in the area of the strike.

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...

's fact checking agency concluded the strike deliberately targeted the camp. The

Palestinian Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, witnesses and multiple humanitarian groups also said Israel deliberately targeted the refugee camp. Israel claimed that the strike took place outside of the "al-Mawasi humanitarian zone", which was confirmed by a ''

Forensic Architecture Forensic Architecture is a multidisciplinary research group based at Goldsmiths, University of London that uses architectural techniques and technologies to investigate cases of state violence and violations of human rights around the world. The ...

'' analysis. However, it noted that the strike location was within the previous borders of the zone, and that the IDF did not effectively communicate this change to refugees.

Munitions used

Israel said two missiles equipped with of explosives were used in the strikes. Analyses of video footage by The New York Times and CNN showed that the munition was a variant on the US-made guided

bomb (sometimes called a missile), though the exact variant was unclear. Israel stated the use of precision munitions was as an effort to minimize civilian casualties, however, other military experts doubted this. USAF sergeant Wes J. Bryant, who has experience with GBU-39, characterized the Israeli strike as "negligent". Bryant said GBU-39 should not have been used given that civilians were in the "effects radius" of the airstrike; and that GBU-39 should generally not be used near civilian encampments. Trevor Ball, a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

explosives technician, said the bombs' fragments can travel up to 600 meters, concluding "so that just doesn’t check out if they’re trying to limit casualties". Mark Cancian, a Marine Corps Reserves colonel, said the large debris field indicated the bombs appear to be programmed to detonate in the air before impact. This decision by the IDF would ensure that the targets were killed but it would also maximize area damage and risk unintended deaths.

Fire

The cause of the fire is unclear. The IDF said the fire was "unexpected", adding "our munition alone could not have ignited a fire." Frederic Gras, a French munitions analyst, questioned this statement, arguing "any explosion starts a fire as soon as flammable products are in the vicinity." Likewise, a U.S. Army bomb diffusing expert said "a bomb of any size" can start a fire, as explosives release a lot of heat that can cause materials found in camps to catch on fire. Multiple sources pointed out that refugee camps typically contain flammable material, such as cooking gas canisters which could have been ignited by the airstrike.

Turkish Special Forces The Special Forces Command ( tr, Özel Kuvvetler Komutanlığı — OKK) is a division of the Turkish Armed Forces, initially established as a brigade in 14 April 1992, operating directly under the Turkish General Staff of the Republic of Turkey, ...

officer Abdullah Agar said Israel should have known that the GBU-39 can easily cause fire in a camp full of flammable materials like clothes and tarpaulin tents. On May 27, Israeli officials initially told their American counterparts that they believed the fire was caused by shrapnel from the strike igniting a nearby fuel tank. The same day, an unnamed Gazan narrator said the explosion was caused by a "Hamas jeep loaded with weapons". Later, the IDF suggested that a militant warehouse containing ammunition or "some other material" in the area caused the fire. It also released an Arabic phone call, supposedly made by Hamas, in which they clearly say that the Israeli missile was not responsible for the fire, that the fire was caused by secondary explosions, and the secondary explosions came from an ammunition warehouse. However, James Cavanaugh, who worked at the

ATF The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as the ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and preven ...

, said the fire did not indicate "some giant stash that exploded." The ''New York Times'' reviewed numerous videos and did not find evidence of a significant secondary explosion.

Reactions

Domestic

Palestine

Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad condemned the attack, labeling it a massacre and calling for the Palestinian people to "rise up and march" against Israel. A spokesperson for the

Presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by a ...

of the

condemned the incident, calling it a massacre and called for an intervention. A survivor of the attack stated, "They told us that this area is safe... but now there is no safe place in Gaza. There are massacres everywhere." A lawyer with the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights stated the attack showed Israel was ignoring the

's interim orders.

Israel

Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...

said that the incident was a "tragic mistake". Initially, the Israeli military said the attack was "under review", while its top military prosecutor

Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi Yifat ( he, יִפְעַת, more accurately romanized as "Yif'at") is a kibbutz in Galilee, northern Israel. Located adjacent to the town Migdal HaEmek and short distances from the cities of Afula and Nazareth. It falls under the jurisdiction of J ...

called the incident "very grave". Some Israelis celebrated the attack, likening it to the Jewish holiday Lag BaOmer, in which bonfires are lit to commemorate a second century

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

. The analogy was made by Israel's Channel 14 senior journalist

Yinon Magal Yinon Magal ( he, ינון אלישע מגל, born 27 April 1969) is an Israeli journalist and politician. He served as a member of the Knesset for the Jewish Home for most of 2015. Biography Yinon Elisha Magal was born and raised in Bat Yam. Du ...

, who posted pictures on social media captioned: "The main lighting of the year in Rafah" and by i24NEWS' Naveh Dromi commenting "Happy Holiday." Both posts were later removed. The comparison was also made by far-right rapper Yoav Eliasi, who posted videos on Telegram in celebration of the attack and also likened it to the holiday. Some Israeli social media users also shared memes and jokes about the attack, while others condemned the posts.

International

Governments

Spain, Ireland, and Norway condemned the attack and urged Israel to halt the offensive in a joint statement. * : Prime Minister

Alexander De Croo Alexander De Croo (born 3 November 1975) is a Belgian politician and businessman who has served as the prime minister of Belgium since October 2020. De Croo was born in Vilvoorde, Flemish Brabant, and studied business engineering at the Vrije ...

called for further peace negotiations after the attack. * : A legislator and the leader of the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

Jagmeet Singh Jagmeet Singh Jimmy Dhaliwal ( ; born January 2, 1979) is a Canadian politician who has served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) since 2017. Singh has sat as the member of Parliament (MP) for Burnaby South since 2019. Foreign Minister

Melanie Joly Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness" and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark". * : President

Gustavo Petro Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego (; born 19 April 1960) is a Colombian economist, politician, and former guerrilla fighter who is the current president of Colombia since 2022. After taking office, Petro was considered by analysts as Colombia's ...

condemned the attack, stating that "the massacre continues". * : The country condemned the attack, again calling on Israel to halt the Rafah offensive. * : French politicians called for action against Israel for the attack, with one also calling it an "abominable massacre". President

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...

said he was "outraged" at the attacks and again called for a ceasefire. * Germany: German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock stated that the ICJ's measures were binding and urged Israel to follow international law. * : The country condemned the Israeli attack on camps for displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the strongest terms, calling it "a flagrant breach of the Orders of the ICJ". * : Cleric and the leader of the Sadrist Movement

Moqtada al-Sadr Muqtada al-Sadr ( ar, مقتدى الصدر, Muqtadā aṣ-Ṣadr; born 4 August 1974) is an Iraqi politician and militia leader. He is the leader of the Sadrist Movement and the leader of the Peace Companies, a successor to the militia he had p ...

called for the closure of the US embassy in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

after the attacks in Rafah. * : Defense Minister

Guido Crosetto Guido Crosetto (born 19 September 1963) is an Italian businessman and politician, who has been serving as Italian Minister of Defence, Minister of Defence since 22 October 2022 in the government of Giorgia Meloni. A former Christian-democrat, C ...

said that violence against Palestinians was "no longer justifiable". * : the Irish vice-prime minister said the attack was "barbaric" and urged Israel to halt the Rafah offensive. * : Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa say that the country is "deeply concerned" about the humanitarian situation in Rafah after the attacks. * : The Jordanian Foreign Ministry condemned the attacks and urged the international community to hold the perpetrators responsible. * : Foreign Minister

Espen Barth Eide Espen Barth Eide (born 1 May 1964, in Oslo) is a Norwegian politician and political scientist. He is currently serving as the Minister of Climate and the Environment in Jonas Gahr Støre's government. He has been a been a member of the Norwegian ...

stated that the Israeli attack on Rafah has "breached

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

". * : The Omani Foreign Ministry condemned the attack. * : President

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the List of presidents of Turkey, 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Lis ...

condemned the attack, saying Turkey will do "everything possible" to hold "barbaric" Netanyahu to account. * : The country warned that the strike could hinder ceasefire negotiations. * : The country said that it "condemns in the strongest terms the continued massacres" carried out by Israeli forces in Gaza and that it "affirms its categorical rejection of the continued flagrant violations by the Israeli occupation forces of all international and humanitarian resolutions, laws, and norms". The Saudi Foreign Ministry also called for the international community to intervene in the conflict. * : The International Relations Department says the government has joined the international community and condemned the Israeli attack. * : Foreign Minister

José Manuel Albares José Manuel Albares Bueno (born 22 March 1972) is a Spanish diplomat who has been serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation in the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez since 2021. Early life and education ...

said the bombing of Rafah was "one more day with innocent Palestinian civilians being killed", adding that the gravity of the attack "is even larger" as it comes after the ICJ order directing Israel to halt its operations in Rafah and the rest of Gaza. * : The country condemned the attack and stressed that Israel had to follow the ICJ's ruling. * : The UK Foreign Office reiterated that it didn't support the Rafah offensive. The leader of the opposition Labour party Keir Starmer says that he will push for an end to the invasion of Gaza. * :

White House Office The White House Office is an entity within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The White House Office is headed by the White House chief of staff, who is also the head of the Executive Office of the President. The s ...

said it was aware of the reports and still gathering information. Later on 27 May, the Biden administration condemned the attack and began assessing whether the strike violated its "red line". On 28 May, the administration announced that the attack didn't violate its red line, which it said was a "large-scale" ground operation. * : The Yemeni Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the massacre.

Supranational

* : The

African Union Commission The Commission of the African Union acts as the executive/administrative branch or secretariat of the African Union (and is somewhat analogous to the European Commission). It consists of a number of Commissioners dealing with different areas of ...

said the ICJ order must be "urgently enforced if global order is to prevail". Its chairman

Moussa Faki Moussa Faki Mahamat ( ar, موسى فكي محمد ', born 21 June 1960) is a Chadian politician and diplomat who has been the elected Chairperson of the African Union Commission since 14 March 2017. Previously he was Prime Minister of Chad from 2 ...

wrote on X: "With horrific overnight airstrikes killing mostly Palestinian women & children trapped in a displacement camp in Rafah, the State of Israel continues to violate international law with impunity and in contempt of an ICJ ruling two days ago ordering an end to its military action in Rafah". * : Foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemned the attack, saying that Israel's military actions needed to stop. * : Francesca Albanese condemned the attack and called it "unacceptable", she also stated that Israel must face sanctions to pressure them to stop. Albanese described the attack as "yet another massacre." The UN Secretary-General

António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres ( , ; born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat. Since 2017, he has served as secretary-general of the United Nations, the ninth person to hold this title. A member of the Portuguese Socia ...

condemned "Israel’s actions which killed scores of innocent civilians who were only seeking shelter from this deadly conflict", adding that "This horror must stop." **

UNRWA The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians displaced by the 1948 P ...

Philippe Lazzarini Philippe Lazzarini (born 1964) is a national of Switzerland and Italy who has been serving as Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) since 2020. From 2015 until 2020, Lazz ...

, the Commissioner General of UNRWA said that images from the attack were "a testament to how Rafah has turned into hell on earth". * : The OIC called the attack a "heinous massacre" and an act of "state-organised terrorism". *

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals ...

: Chris Gunness said that the three pre-trial chamber judges were as "horrified as the rest of the world" about the attack.

Humanitarian aid groups

International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...

: A spokesperson for the group said there was a need to follow international law, and that Gaza's healthcare system couldn't handle the attack. * Doctors Without Borders: the group said the attack showed "nowhere in Gaza is safe" and reiterated its call for a ceasefire. * Palestine Red Crescent Society: the group noted that Israel forcibly displaced civilians into that area. * ActionAid UK: the group condemned the "inhumane, barbaric" attack. * 19 aid groups said in a joint statement: "As Israeli attacks intensify on Rafah, the unpredictable trickle of aid into Gaza has created a mirage of improved access, while the humanitarian response is in reality on the verge of collapse." A British doctor in Rafah said that videos of the attack were "truly some of the worst that I have seen". Following the attack, several aid organisations in this part of the city were forced to close their operations and move them to other parts of the Gaza Strip, including the Al Quds field hospital run by the Palestine Red Crescent Society, a clinic supported by Doctors Without Borders and kitchens run by the

World Central Kitchen World Central Kitchen (WCK) is a not-for-profit non-governmental organization devoted to providing meals in the wake of natural disasters. Founded in 2010 by chef José Andrés, the organization prepared food in Haiti following its devastati ...

Other

Council on American-Islamic Relations A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

: The American-Muslim advocacy and civil rights organization condemned the attacks and demanded that US President Joe Biden stop arming Israel to embolden further attacks on civilians in the face of several prior attacks using US weapons. National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell stated in a news conference that Biden should not keep "shifting" and "cross nghis own red line" and "every red line of U.S. law,

and basic human decency", and that him providing "military, financial, and diplomatic support" to these operations was staining all Americans "with the blood of innocent Palestinians". * Jewish Voice for Peace: the US-based Jewish advocacy group condemned the "massacre" carried out by Israel, stating that "the

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...

must end". * Former

First Minister of Scotland The first minister of Scotland ( sco, heid meinister o Scotland; gd, prìomh mhinistear na h-Alba ) is the head of the Scottish Government and keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. The first minister chairs ...

Humza Yousaf Humza Haroon Yousaf (born 7 April 1985) is a Scottish politician serving as Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care since 2021. He is the first non-white and first Muslim cabinet minister in the Scottish Government. A member of the Sco ...

wrote: "Bear witness to the images and ask yourself, are you on the right side of history?" after sharing the images of the incident. * An image depicting tents in a camp arranged to spell out "All Eyes on Rafah", calling for people to pay attention to the offensive in the aftermath of the strike, went viral on social media, with many celebrities re-posting the image. *Following the attack on Tel al-Sultan, British

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

racing driver Lewis Hamilton urged Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah. *

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...

winner

Narges Mohammadi Narges Mohammadi (; born 21 April 1972) is an Iranian human rights activist and the vice president of the Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC), headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi. In May 2016, she was sentenced in Tehran to 16 ...

stated, "Images of children burning in refugee tents in Rafah starkly depict the decline of humanity in our world".

Notes

References

{{Massacres against Palestinians 2024 airstrikes 2024 building bombings May 2024 crimes in Asia Airstrikes conducted by Israel Airstrikes during the Israel–Hamas war Building bombings in the Gaza Strip Israeli massacres of Palestinians Massacres committed by Israel Rafah offensive UNRWA 2024 massacres of the Israel–Hamas war 21st-century mass murder in the State of Palestine Israeli war crimes in the Israel–Hamas war Fires in the State of Palestine 2024 fires in Asia Building and structure fires in Asia