WASHINGTON: The United States on Monday asked Israel to make every possible effort to avoid civilian casualties, after a deadly strike hit a refugee camp in Rafah, which according to Gaza’s health ministry killed 45 people.
Israel is facing a wave of global condemnation over the strike, both across the region and from the United Nations, European Union and France.
US National Security Council spokesperson in a statement said Israel must take every precautionary measure to protect civilians.
The spokesperson added the US is actively engaging the IDF and partners on the ground to evaluate what happened.
Gaza’s civil defense agency said the strike caused a fire at a displacement center in northwestern Rafah near a facility of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
The NSC spokesperson said the devastating images after an IDF strike in Rafah last night that killed dozens of Palestinians are heartbreaking.
The Israeli military said it had started an investigation into the strike which it said was conducted on “precise intelligence information” about two Hamas members who it said were killed.
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Israel launched the attack on Rafah hours after Hamas unleashed a barrage of rockets towards the Tel Aviv area.
The NSC spokesperson said that Israel has a right to go after Hamas.
According to the Gaza’s health ministry Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 36,050 people in Gaza, mostly women and children.
