The UN humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, called the attack “utterly unacceptable” and criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s explanation that what happened in Rafah was a “tragic mistake.”
The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to convene on Tuesday to address the situation in Rafah after an Israeli airstrike resulted in the deaths of 45 Palestinians who were sheltering in a refugee camp, and injured 200 others.
The UN humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, condemned the attack as “utterly unacceptable” and criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s assertion that the incident 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, according to Voice of America.
Griffiths remarked, “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.”
Expressing regret over the incident, Griffiths noted that the United Nations had “warned that a military operation in Rafah would lead to a slaughter,” adding that there are no safe areas or humanitarian zones in Gaza, but Israel ignored these warnings.
In defense of its actions, Israel stated that the airstrike killed two senior Hamas militants.
“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 consistently argued that Israel needs to conduct an offensive in Rafah to ensure that Hamas cannot operate in Gaza and pose a future threat to Israel.
The U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Volker Turk, also condemned the Rafah attack.
In a statement on Monday, he described “the images from the camp” as horrific and said they “point to no apparent change in the methods and means of warfare used by Israel that have already led to so many civilian deaths.”
While acknowledging the Israeli military’s announced investigation, Turk stated it was “shockingly clear” that the decision to strike an area “densely packed with civilians” would result in the “entirely predictable outcome” of more Palestinian civilian deaths.
Turk urged Israel to comply with last week’s International Court of Justice order to cease its offensive in Rafah. He also called on Palestinian armed groups to stop firing rockets indiscriminately into Israel “in clear violation of international humanitarian law” and to release all the remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
European Council President Charles Michel also condemned the strikes as “horrendous” and urged Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah.
“Horrendous to see innocent Palestinian civilians killed in the recent attack. There is no safe zone for the internally displaced in Rafah,” Michel said on the X social media platform.
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees described the situation in Gaza as “hell on earth.”
“Information coming out of Rafah about further attacks on families seeking shelter is horrifying,” the U.N. relief agency stated.
The Gaza Health Ministry reported that the attack ignited fires in tents in an area sheltering displaced people. The Israeli military characterized its attack as a precise airstrike that killed Yassin Rabia, the Hamas chief of staff for the West Bank.
Qatar’s foreign ministry stated on Monday that the attack could complicate efforts to mediate stalled ceasefire talks and the return of the hostages held in Gaza.
The Israel-Hamas conflict was triggered by the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli officials, and resulted in the capture of about 250 hostages.
Israel’s subsequent counteroffensive has resulted in the deaths of more than 36,000 Palestinians, a toll that includes both civilians and combatants, according to the Gaza health ministry.
