CAIRO, May 28 (NNN-MENA) – Countries in the Middle East yesterday strongly condemned Israel’s airstrike on tents, housing displaced civilians in north-western Rafah of the Gaza Strip, which resulted in the deaths of at least 45 Palestinians and injuries to numerous others.
The Israeli airstrike targeted, on Sunday evening, the tents in a newly established camp, for displaced civilians in the southernmost Gazan city. Local security sources said, the area was supposed to be safe, based on the classification by the Israeli regime’s army.
In response to the attack, Hamas has informed mediators that, it will not participate in any negotiation for a ceasefire in Gaza or a prisoner exchange deal, a source in the movement said, yesterday.
The Qatari Foreign Ministry, issued a strong-worded statement condemning the attack as a severe violation of international laws, that would worsen the humanitarian crisis in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
It also expressed deep concern that the operation would complicate ongoing mediation efforts and hinder progress towards an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
The ministry called on the Israeli authorities to comply with the International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s decision, to end military attacks on Rafah, urging the international community to take immediate action to prevent further atrocities and protect civilians.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, said, the Israeli attack has led to another “horrendous” killing of Palestinian civilians, especially women and children.
In a post on social media platform X, he said, the strike was a flagrant instance of “war crimes” and “in conspicuous violation” of the ruling by the ICJ, ordering Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah.
Kanaani said, whenever Israel faced “humiliating defeats” in the field, it would resort to committing such “insane war crimes” against Palestinian civilians.
Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, yesterday called the deadly strike in Rafah a “massacre.”
The operation, which took place amid the ICJ’s call for a halt to the attacks in Gaza, “once again exposed the bloody and treacherous nature of the terrorist state,” he said on social media.
The Turkish leader also accused the Israeli government of resorting to further bloodshed, in a desperate bid to extend its political tenure. “We will do everything in our power to hold these murderers accountable,” he said.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) said that, “the attack was a crime against humanity and systemised state terrorism, requiring accountability by international criminal law.”
The OIC reiterated its call for the international community to assume its responsibilities, in obliging Israel to implement the ICJ orders to immediately stop the Rafah offensive.
The targeted displacement camp in Rafah is located near the warehouses of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that, an IDF aircraft, “using precise munitions based on precise intelligence … struck a Hamas compound in Rafah, in which significant Hamas ‘terrorists’ were operating.”– NNN-MENA
