Global Responses to the Rafah Massacre

Al-Ahram, Egypt, May 30

In a rare acknowledgment, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Knesset, admitting that the Israeli military had committed a “catastrophic mistake” in a recent airstrike in Rafah. This unfortunate incident occurred last Sunday when Israeli planes bombed a camp for defenseless Palestinian refugees in the Tal as Sultan area of Rafah, resulting in the deaths of 45 people and injuring 249 others, mostly women and children. The gravity of this tragedy is further compounded by the fact that Israel had previously assured the safety of the targeted area, with no prior warning to residents or orders for evacuation before the bombing. The international community was quick to react, with numerous newspapers and television stations labeling the incident as an “ugly massacre.” Condemnations poured in from Israel’s closest allies and the United Nations. Josep Borrell, the European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs, expressed his horror, stating, “I condemn the Rafah massacre in the strongest terms, and these attacks must stop immediately, because Gaza is no longer a safe place.” In Canada, Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly voiced her nation’s outrage over the Israeli attacks on Rafah, emphasizing that the human suffering must end and calling for an immediate cease-fire. UN Secretary-General António Guterres also condemned the actions of Israel, stressing, “We condemn the actions of Israel, which killed dozens of innocent civilians who were just looking for shelter from this deadly conflict,” and demanded that this horror cease. In contrast, the United States took a more restrained approach, opting to use the n more euphemistic terms and offering justifications that downplayed the horror of the event. A National Security Council spokesman described the images from the Israeli raid as “shocking,” while underscoring Israel’s right to target Hamas. He noted that the raid resulted in the deaths of two senior Hamas leaders responsible for attacks against Israelis but concluded that Israel must take all possible precautions to protect civilians. Additional context came from another American official who told ABC that according to Israeli information, shrapnel from the airstrike might have ignited a fuel tank 100 meters away, sparking a fire that engulfed one of the tents, leading to the high casualty toll. The divide in international responses highlights the complexity and deep-rooted conflicts surrounding the ongoing violence in Gaza, raising pressing questions about accountability and the protection of innocent lives in this protracted conflict. —Ahmed Abdel-Tawwab (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)