Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – Two days after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to halt its military offensive in Rafah, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) launched a devastating airstrike on a camp for internally displaced peoples in the Tal as-Sultan area in western Rafah.
The attack, which occurred last night in what was originally designated a “safe zone” by the IOF, claimed the lives of at least 40 displaced Palestinians, who were burned alive. Dozens more were left injured.
Witnesses reported that Israeli forces deployed missiles during the strike. One survivor described the horrific scene to Al Jazeera, saying, “they burned people alive… They burned an entire block in Tal as-Sultan.”
The Government Media Office in Gaza said that Israel used a 907 kilograms bomb in the attack and noted that this was the 10th assault on a United Nations-affiliated displacement center within the last 24 hours. These assaults have resulted in at least 190 fatalities.
Hamas condemned the strike as a “heinous massacre,” accusing Israel of acting in “complete defiance and disregard” of the recent ICJ ruling.
Israel confirmed the strike, claiming it targeted a Hamas compound in Rafah. The Israeli military acknowledged civilian casualties resulting from a subsequent fire and announced an investigation into the incident.
Charred, burned, and dismembered
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Mohammed al-Mughayyir, head of Gaza’s Civil Defense teams, reported that his team responded to a distress call following the attack.
“We received a distress call after the area behind Al Baraksat was targeted, even though the Israeli occupation had marked that particular block as a safe zone and forced citizens to move there,” he said.
“It took us approximately 45 minutes to suppress the fire, and we pulled out a number of dead bodies and injured people. Most of the bodies were charred and burned, while the injured lost limbs and suffered other injuries due to the use of potentially internationally prohibited weapons that caused the massive fire,” he added.
Disturbing images and videos shared online showed graphic scenes of charred, burned, and dismembered bodies, including those of children.
The attack followed the ICJ’s order to the Israeli government on Friday to “immediately halt its military offensive or any other action in Rafah” that might exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in the region.
Earlier on Sunday, Hamas said it had launched rockets at Tel Aviv, marking the first such attack in four months. Israeli media reported light injuries resulting from the rocket fire. The Israeli military said the rockets were launched from Rafah.
