Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged Monday that his military killed 45 Palestinian refugees in Rafah, describing the incident as a "tragic mistake."
The fatal airstrike on the besieged city of Rafah has been condemned by the international community. The United Nations described the aftermath as "horrifying;" Italian officials said that Israel's actions in Gaza are "no longer justifiable;" Ireland's foreign minister said the incident was "barbaric" and multiple Arab states described Israel's actions as "war crimes."
The United States has warned Israel for months to not invade Rafah without a plan to mitigate civilian harm. Israel defied those requests and bombarded the city with missiles.
"We've been clear, Israel must take every precaution possible to protect civilians," a U.S. National Security Council spokesperson said after the attack. "We are actively engaging the IDF and partners on the ground to assess what happened, and understand that the IDF is conducting an investigation."
This is a developing story.
