UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting after deadly Rafah strike

The UN Security Council is gearing up for an urgent meeting on Tuesday following an Israeli airstrike which tragically claimed dozens of lives in a displaced persons camp in Rafah.

An Israeli operation on Sunday night targeting two top Hamas figures led to a blaze that engulfed a nearby displacement centre, resulting in 45 fatalities, as per health officials in Hamas-controlled Gaza. The strike has drawn global outrage, with Palestinians and numerous Arab states branding it a "massacre."

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the strike a "tragic mishap" but did not elaborate on the error. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres tweeted: "There is no safe place in Gaza. This horror must stop."

READ MORE: Israel PM Netanyahu accepts 'tragic mistake' after dozens killed in Rafah

UN humanitarian head Martin Griffiths highlighted prior widespread alerts about civilian casualties before Israel's move into Rafah, declaring in a release: "We've seen the consequences in last night's utterly unacceptable attack. To call it 'a mistake' is a message that means nothing for those killed, those grieving, and those trying to save lives."

According to diplomats, Algeria has summoned the UN Security Council for an emergency session on Tuesday to deliberate on the assault. The EU's foreign policy head expressed being "horrified by news" of the bombardment.

The Israeli military has announced it is conducting an investigation into the deaths of the civilians. Netanyahu addressed the Knesset, claiming that civilian casualties occurred "despite our best efforts" to avoid them.

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The controversy surrounding the airstrike intensified as Spain, Ireland, and Norway declared they will officially recognise a Palestinian state on Tuesday, a move condemned by Israel as a "reward" for Hamas following its vicious October 7 attack that ignited the conflict. "Recognizing the state of Palestine is about justice for the Palestinian people," declared Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares in Brussels on Monday.

He added that this recognition is "the best guarantee of security for Israel and absolutely essential for reaching peace in the region," speaking alongside his Irish and Norwegian colleagues. In response, Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz stated on Monday that he had instructed Spain's consulate in Jerusalem to cease providing consular services to West Bank Palestinians from June 1, describing it as a "preliminary punitive" action.

France is now among the countries moving towards Palestinian state recognition. President Emmanuel Macron expressed his shock over Sunday's strike, stating he was "outraged" while a US National Security Council spokesperson insisted that Israel "must take every precaution possible to protect civilians."

The fatal strike on Rafah by Israel took place late Sunday, shortly after Hamas launched a volley of rockets at the Tel Aviv area from there, with most being intercepted. The Israel Defense Forces reported that their aircraft "struck a Hamas compound" in the city, resulting in the deaths of Yassin Rabia and Khaled Nagar, high-ranking operatives who directed terror operations for the group in the West Bank.

The IDF maintains that the operation targeted Rafah. Four of the six remaining Hamas battalions are contained within the terror group's last stronghold.

Gaza's civil defence agency said that the strike ignited a fire that ripped through a displacement centre in northwestern Rafah, near a facility of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees, UNRWA. The Gaza Health Ministry said the dead included at least 12 women, eight children and three older adults, with another three bodies burned beyond recognition.