WASHINGTON, D.C. – An Israeli strike in the southern Gaza city of Rafah has gained international outrage. The Israeli military said the targeted strike killed two senior Hamas terrorists but it also ignited a deadly fire in a refugee camp, killing dozens of people.
The State Department said they’re horrified to see the videos and images come out from that refugee camp. They add they are waiting to get a final report from the Israeli government about that strike and what caused the blaze in the camp.
The Israeli government said that despite their efforts to minimize civilian casualties during the strike, the fire that broke out in the camp was unexpected and unintended.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) posted on social media that the targeted strike in Rafah was about 1.7 kilometers, which is just a little bit more than a mile, away from the humanitarian area.
Matthew Miller, the State Department spokesperson, said they have made it clear in regards to Rafah that they don’t want to see a major military offensive there because of the concern on civilian harm and casualties. Miller adds Hamas also needs to stop hiding behind civilians. HE also said that there are still a lot of questions they’re hoping to get answers from the Israeli military about the recent strike that ignited that fire.
“Israel has said there might have been a Hamas ammo dump near the area where they took the strike as I said they claimed which was 1.7 kilometers outside the area where they told civilians to move,” said Miller. “Thats a very important factual question that needs to be answered when it comes to making these sort of assessments so we are pressing the government of Israel to do is conduct an investigation to present those facts publicly so we along with the rest of the world can make the kind of assessments we need to do.”
The IDF said they’re still investigating the strike. The Secretary General of the United Nations said that he condemns Israel’s actions which killed scores of innocent civilians who were only seeking shelter from this deadly conflict adding there is no safe place in Gaza.
