45 Palestinians were killed, and 249 others were injured on Sunday evening, in new Israeli air raids that targeted two homes and a displacement camp housing more than 100,000 displaced Palestinians northwest of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.
The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip affirmed that 23 of those killed in the massacre were women, children, and the elderly.
The displacement camp is situated in regions that the Israeli occupation army had previously declared safe and ordered the displaced people to evacuate.
The massacre comes two days after the International Court of Justice ruled to immediately stop the Israeli military attack on Rafah.
The targeted displacement camp is located in the Tal al-Sultan area, northwest of Rafah, and includes hundreds of tents and caravans that shelter more than 100,000 Palestinians displaced from various regions of the Strip.
The Israeli massacre has left 30 people dead and numerous others injured, according to the Gaza government media office.
The Israeli occupation had bombed the camp with seven missiles and massive bombs, each containing over 2,000 pounds of explosives, the office explained.
“The occupation army previously proclaimed the camp a safe area and ordered the displaced families to evacuate there.”
The media office considered that “the massacre in Rafah is a clear message from the occupation to the International Court and the international community that the Gaza Holocaust continues.”
Over the past 24 hours, the Israeli occupation forces bombed 10 displacement centers throughout the Gaza Strip, resulting in 190 deaths and injuries.
Following the displacement camp massacre, the Israeli forces bombed two houses in Rafah, resulting in 5 deaths and a number of casualties, bringing the total number of victims of the Israeli bombing of the city on Sunday evening to 35 dead and dozens wounded, according to Palestinian health sources.
For its part, the Palestinian Civil Defense Service in Gaza said pulled out more than 50 people, dead and wounded, following the displacement camp bombing in Rafah.
The targeted area, northwest of Rafah, houses 100,000 displaced people.
The International Committee of the Red Cross also said in a statement: “The Red Cross Field Hospital in Rafah is dealing with an influx of wounded people in need of treatment due to severe injuries and burns.”
“We receive information that other hospitals have been overwhelmed with injured people at the same time, and our teams are now doing their best to save lives.”
Along the same line, the Palestinian Red Crescent said that its crews transported a large number of deaths and injuries following the Israeli targeting of the displaced persons’ tents located near the UN headquarters northwest of Rafah.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza reported, in another statement, that medical crews were not able to transport the dead and wounded as a result of the lack of a hospital in Rafah that could accommodate these large numbers of victims.
The Israeli occupation continues its violent attacks on Rafah despite the International Court of Justice’s new temporary measures demanding that it “immediately stop its attack on Rafah,” “maintain the opening of the Rafah crossing to facilitate the entry of aid supplies into Gaza,” and “submit a report to the Court within a month on the steps taken” in this regard.
Since October 7, the Israeli occupation army has waged a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, resulting in an enormous humanitarian catastrophe and a major health and environmental disaster.
The Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip constitutes a blatant violation of international humanitarian and human rights law as it exposes civilians’ lives to extreme danger, which requires immediate international intervention.
The international community must force the Israeli occupation forces to abide by international human rights and humanitarian laws, primarily protecting the rights and lives of civilians, prohibiting their targeting and preserving their safety, and holding the Israeli leaders accountable for committing war crimes in the Gaza Strip.
