Israeli airstrike on Rafah tent camp kills 45, triggers new wave of condemnation

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• Amna Nawaz:

  More now on yesterday's Israeli airstrike on a tent camp in Rafah. At least 45 Palestinians were killed, according to local health officials. Israel said it was targeting two Hamas leaders.

  This comes just days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to halt its offensive.

  Panic and horror in Rafah last night, as flames raged through a camp for displaced Palestinians after an Israeli airstrike triggered a massive blaze, civilians burnt alive and children decapitated. Rescue was rushed to help anyone pulled from the rubble.

• Fadi Dukhan, Eyewitness (through interpreter):

  We were sitting at the door of the house safely. Suddenly, we heard the sound of a missile. We went into the house and we found a girl and a young man who had been cut into pieces.

• Amna Nawaz:

  By sunrise, a charred skeleton of the tent camp is all that remained. Survivors searched the ashes for anything to salvage, a prayer mat, pairs of shoes, or a Quran now destroyed.

• Umm Mouhamad Al-Attar, Displaced Palestinian (through interpreter):

  We were praying, and we were getting our children's beds ready to sleep. Then we heard a very loud noise and fire erupted around us. All the children started screaming and all the nearby rooms were shaking.

• Amna Nawaz:

  The strike hit Gaza's southernmost tip in the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood of Rafah, where thousands of people were sheltering. Israel's military said it occurred outside of the designated humanitarian area, including Al-Mawasi, where it had ordered Palestinians to evacuate earlier this month.

  Israeli officials said the airstrike targeted and killed two top Hamas commanders using small warheads that were precision-guided. But the casualties were outstanding. Still, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to investigate and called the civilian deaths a — quote — "tragic mistake."

• Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister (through interpreter):

  Despite our best efforts not to harm the noninvolved, unfortunately, a technical failure happened last night. We are investigating the case. We will present the conclusions, because this is our policy.

• Amna Nawaz:

  Israel has said it's working to eliminate the last remaining Hamas battalions in Rafah, which continues to fire on Israel, as with these missiles it launched at Tel Aviv yesterday.

  But after the top U.N. court ordered Israel to halt its Rafah operation last week, its latest strike has triggered a new wave of condemnation.

  Guido Crosetto is Italy's defense minister.

  Guido Crosetto, Italian Minister of Defense (through interpreter): I have the impression that Israel, with this choice, is spreading hatred, rooting hatred that will involve their children and grandchildren.

• Amna Nawaz:

  French President Emmanuel Macron said he was — quote — "outraged" by the Israeli strikes, saying: "These operations must stop. There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian civilians."