“What happened last night was an abomination”

The Israeli Prime Minister described the bombing by his Army on a center for displaced people that left 45 dead as a “tragic mistake”

May 28. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The head of Humanitarian Affairs of the United Nations, Martin Griffiths, has criticized the statements of the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, who described as a “tragic mistake” the bombing by his Army on a center for displaced people in Rafah that left at least 45 dead. and 250 injured, most of them women and children.

“There is no debate, for the people of Gaza, about whether the attack was a war crime or a ‘tragic mistake’. What happened last night was the latest — and possibly the cruelest — abomination. Call it ‘a mistake’ ‘It is a message that means nothing to those who died, those who are grieving and those who are trying to save lives,’ he said.

Griffiths has maintained that they have “repeatedly said that nowhere is safe in Gaza”, not the shelters, not the hospitals, not “the so-called humanitarian zones.” “We have also warned that a military operation in Rafah would lead to carnage. We have seen the consequences of last night’s absolutely unacceptable attack,” she added.

Hours before, he asserted that “this impunity cannot continue,” asking for protection for civilians. “Last night Israel killed dozens of people, many of them women and children, who were burned alive,” he said before recalling that in the midst of what happened they still do not receive humanitarian aid through the Kerem Shalom crossing “on the necessary scale.” due to “impediments and active fighting.”

For his part, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, lamented the “horror” of the attack: “The images of the camp are horrifying and do not indicate any apparent change in the methods and means of warfare used by Israel, that have already caused so many civilian deaths. Thus, he stated that he had “taken note” of the announcement of the investigation in this regard, although he reiterated that an attack of these characteristics against an area “densely populated with civilians” was going to have “a totally predictable result.”

Netanyahu stated hours before that “what happened in Rafah is a tragic mistake” and that, therefore, the authorities were investigating the case. Likewise, he assured that what happened was “a tragedy for Israel”, but a “strategy for Hamas.” Different Palestinian media broadcast images of the attack, showing a large fire in the camp and bodies of Palestinians under rubble, charred or mutilated.

The impact of the bombing has been such that, according to diplomatic sources consulted by the Al Jazeera television network or , the UN Security Council is going to hold an emergency meeting behind closed doors at the request of Algeria to discuss these attacks.

The Israeli Army confirmed the attack, in which two senior Hamas officials responsible for the West Bank were killed, and acknowledged that “as a result of the attack and a fire that broke out in the area, several people other than those involved were injured” and He stated that he is “reviewing” the incident. Afterwards, the chief prosecutor of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) described the event as “very serious” and stressed that an investigation is underway.