The southern Gaza city of Rafah has become “hell on Earth,” the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said.
According to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry, at least 45 people died in a tent camp after a Israeli Sunday’s airstrike, described by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “tragic mistake.”
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said some of the agency’s staff were “missing” and “many” civilians had been injured.
“Among the dead were children and women living in makeshift shelters made of plastic,” he said, adding that others “were reportedly burned to death.”
“Last night’s images are a testament to how Rafah has become a hell on Earth.”
Survivors said families were about to go to sleep when the attack hit the Tel al-Sultan neighborhood, where thousands of people were taking shelter after Israel launched a ground offensive in eastern Rafah.
“We were praying… preparing our children’s beds for sleeping. There was nothing unusual, then we heard a very loud noise… a fire broke out around us,” said Umm Mohamed Al-Attar, a Palestinian mother.
“All the children started screaming… the sound was terrifying, we felt like metal was about to collapse on us and shrapnel was falling into the rooms.”
More than half of the dead were women, children and the elderly, health officials said. Loop he said, adding that due to the severe burns suffered by some of the injured, the death toll is likely to rise.
A Red Cross field hospital operating in Rafah has reported a “very high influx” of wounded Palestinians.
William Schomburg, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Gaza, told Sky News that his hospital received patients with “horrible injuries”.
“We are talking about very serious shrapnel injuries, severe burns and trauma from the blast,” he explained.
“Our team performed several operations, including, tragically, some amputations.”
The Red Cross field hospital has only been operational for a few weeks, but Schomberg warned that there was a risk that it would be “overloaded very quickly” if Israel continued its operations in Rafah.
Israel has maintained its offensive despite a decision by the The UN’s top court on Friday ordered a halt toclaiming that the ruling provides some scope for military action there.
In a speech to parliament, Netanyahu said the attack was not intended to cause civilian casualties.
“In Rafah, we have already evacuated close to a million non-combatant residents and despite our best efforts not to harm non-combatants, unfortunately something went tragically wrong,” he said.
The Israel Defense Forces had earlier said the strike was against “legitimate targets” with “precise munitions” and based on “accurate intelligence,” adding that the incident was “under review.”
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Israel says it wants to root out Hamas fighters holed up in Rafah and rescue hostages it says are being held there.
Doctors in Gaza said a fresh Israeli airstrike on a house in Rafah on Monday killed seven people and wounded several others.
The United States urged Israel to take greater care to protect civilians but stopped short of calling for an end to the Rafah raid, while French President Emmanuel Macron said he was “outraged”.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the International Court of Justice ruling must be respected.
