UN holds urgent meeting on Rafah airstrike casualties

CAIRO - 28 May 2024:The United Nations Security Council is holding an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Rafah following a deadly airstrike on a Palestinian refugee camp in the city located in the southern Gaza Strip, diplomatic sources reported.

The council announced via its "X" platform account that the consultations will address "the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian issue."

Diplomatic sources informed the Agence France-Presse on Monday that the closed-door meeting was requested by Algeria, a non-permanent member of the council.

Officials reported on Monday that an Israeli airstrike caused a massive fire, resulting in the deaths of 45 people in a camp in Rafah, sparking outrage among international leaders who called for the enforcement of the International Court of Justice's ruling to halt the Israeli offensive.

Palestinian families rushed to hospitals to prepare the bodies of their loved ones for burial after the late-night Sunday attack ignited flames in the makeshift tents.

The Israeli army stated that it is investigating reports that an airstrike targeting Hamas leaders in Rafah caused the fire.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strike was not intended to result in civilian casualties. In a Knesset address, which was interrupted by jeers from opposing lawmakers, he stated, "In Rafah, we had already evacuated about a million non-combatant residents, and despite our utmost efforts to avoid harming non-combatants, something tragically went wrong."

The Israeli military mentioned that Sunday's airstrike, based on "precise intelligence," resulted in the death of the head of Hamas' West Bank office and another senior leader responsible for attacks on Israelis.