May 27, 2024 - Israel-Hamas war

Our live coverage of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza has moved here.

Israeli bombings in various areas of Gaza killed at least six people and wounded several others, the Palestinian news agency Wafa said early Tuesday morning, citing medical sources in Gaza.

An Israeli strike on a house in the Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City killed at least two people and wounded others, Wafa said.

Israeli artillery shelling targeting a tent of displaced people in Tal al-Sultan, northwest of Rafah, killed three people and wounded several others, Wafa reported.

Israeli artillery shelling in the city of Rafah killed a young man, according to Wafa.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment. 

International outcry is mounting over Israel's airstrike on a camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah that killed at least 45 people and wounded 200 others, many of whom were women and children.

In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the strike a "tragic error" and said that Israel was investigating the incident.

Footage obtained by CNN showed the camp in flames, with scores of men, women and children frantically trying to find cover from the nighttime assault. Burned bodies, including those of children, could be seen being pulled by rescuers from the wreckage.

The strike came days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to halt its offensive in the city, and several humanitarian organizations have called on the UN Security Council to enforce the court's orders, saying "immediate action is required."

A growing list of countries, world leaders and aid agencies have now condemned the strike, saying "there is no safe space in Gaza."

Here's some of the international reactions:

• "Horror must stop": UN chief Antònio Guterres issued a blistering condemnation. "There is no safe place in Gaza. This horror must stop," he said. The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting to discuss the strike on Tuesday, according to a UN diplomat.
• "Abomination": UN relief chief Martin Griffiths criticized Netanyahu's response to the attack. "Whether the attack was a war crime or a 'tragic mistake' for the people of Gaza, there is no debate. What happened last night was the latest – and possibly most cruel – abomination," Griffiths said.
• "Unbearable": French President Emmanuel Macron said he was "outraged" by the strikes and called for a ceasefire. Germany described the "images of charred bodies, including children, from the airstrike" as "unbearable." The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said Israel must implement the ICJ ruling. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called the strike a "massacre" and said his country “will do everything” in its power to hold Israeli officials accountable.
• "Heartbreaking": A US National Security Council spokesperson said the strike was “heartbreaking," adding that the United States was “actively engaging” with officials in Israel to determine what happened. The spokesperson also said "Israel has a right to go after Hamas, and we understand this strike killed two senior Hamas terrorists who are responsible for attacks against Israeli civilians."
• "Complete disregard for the lives of civilians": Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) strongly denounced the strike and called for an "immediate and sustained ceasefire" in Gaza. MSF said the airstrike on the camp "shows the complete disregard for the lives of civilians." MSF nurse activity manager Gaia Giletta said from Gaza that "we are shocked by the continuous attacks on civilians, and we have no word to describe the horror of what we've seen here."
• "Hell on earth": “The images from last night are a testament to how Rafah has turned into hell on earth," said Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). The scenes from Rafah last night are harrowing, Lazzarini said, and some victims “were reportedly burnt to death."
• Strike could “hinder” negotiations: Qatar said Israel’s strike on the Rafah camp could “hinder” negotiations aiming for the release of hostages and reaching a ceasefire in Gaza. The Qatari foreign ministry said the strike is a “serious violation of international laws” and expressed concern that it “would complicate the ongoing mediation efforts.”

This post has been updated after additional review of the translation from Hebrew to English, to clarify the wording used by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he referred to a deadly Israeli strike on Rafah, Gaza.The word 'error' was originally translated as 'mistake'.

Several global aid organizations penned a joint letter on Monday calling on the UN Security Council to enforce the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) orders that Israel “immediately halt” its military offensive in Rafah.

“Immediate action is required to uphold international law and ensure the government of Israel meets its obligations as mandated by the ICJ,” the letter read.

“We call on the UN Security Council to take decisive action to ensure the ICJ's orders are implemented, allowing humanitarian aid to reach those in need and enabling thorough investigations into violations of international law.
"The Security Council must act now to uphold justice, protect human rights, and maintain international peace and security. Failure to do so would further compromise the conditions to sustain human life in Gaza and would undermine global trust in the primacy of international law.”

France and Germany have joined a chorus of growing global outrage over the Israeli's strike on the displacement camp in Rafah that killed at least 45 people on Sunday, including women and children.

In a post on X, French President Emmanuel Macron said he was "outraged by the Israeli strikes that have killed many displaced persons in Rafah."

"These operations must stop. There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian civilians," he said. "I call for full respect for international law and an immediate ceasefire."

Germany's Foreign Office described the "images of charred bodies, including children, from the airstrike" as "unbearable."

"The exact circumstances must be clarified and an IDF investigation launched swiftly. The civilian population in Gaza must urgently be better protected," it said in a post on X.

Remember: The Israeli strike hit a displacement camp in southern Gaza's Rafah, killing at least 45 people and injuring more than 200. Most of those killed and wounded were women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and Palestinian medics. Footage obtained by CNN showed the camp in flames, after a fire broke out at the camp following the strike, with scores of men, women and children frantically trying to find cover from the nighttime assault. 

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths has harshly criticized Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for calling Sunday's deadly Israeli airstrike on a Rafah camp housing displaced people "a tragic error."

"Whether the attack was a war crime or a 'tragic mistake' for the people of Gaza, there is no debate. What happened last night was the latest – and possibly most cruel – abomination," Griffiths said in a statement on Monday, adding that it was "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," Griffiths added.

At least 45 people were killed and 200 wounded in the airstrike, Gazan authorities said.

Netanyahu said on Monday that the airstrike had gone tragically wrong.

“Despite our best effort not to harm those not involved, unfortunately a tragic error happened last night. We are investigating the case,” the prime minister said in a speech at the Israel parliament.

This post has been updated after additional review of the translation from Hebrew to English, to clarify the wording used by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he referred to a deadly Israeli strike on Rafah, Gaza.The word 'error' was originally translated as 'mistake'.

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting to discuss a deadly Israeli airstrike on a displaced person tent camp in the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Sunday, according to a UN diplomat.

The meeting was requested by Algeria, the diplomat said.

The Security Council will hold private discussions on Tuesday afternoon at 3.30 p.m., the diplomat added.

UN Secretary-General Antònio Guterres issued a blistering condemnation on Monday.

"I condemn Israel’s actions which killed scores of innocent civilians who were only seeking shelter from this deadly conflict," Guterres said on X.
"There is no safe place in Gaza. This horror must stop," he added.

Israel has told the Biden administration that it used a precision munition to hit a target in Rafah on Sunday, but that shrapnel from the explosion ignited a fuel tank nearby and started a fire that engulfed a camp for displaced Palestinians and led to dozens of deaths, a US official told CNN.

“We can’t confirm that but it’s what Israel shared with us,” the official said, “and we assume we will learn more once Israel completes its investigation.”

The United States has not been able to independently confirm the Israeli explanation, the official said. It is not clear whether the US will conduct its own assessment— throughout the course of the war, the Biden administration has typically relied on Israel to investigate itself and share its findings with US officials.

At least 45 people were killed and 200 were wounded as a result of the Israeli strike. The Israeli military claimed it struck a Hamas compound in the area, killing two senior officials from the militant group.

The Israel Defense Forces also claimed publicly that the target was not located inside the humanitarian area of Rafah where Palestinians were told to move amid Israel’s operations in southern Gaza.

An Israeli airstrike on a camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah killed dozens of people on Sunday, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to call the attack a "tragic mistake." The Israeli military said it's investigating the incident in the southern Gaza city.

This comes as global leaders urged Israel to adhere to Friday's ruling by the International Court of Justice, ordering it to halt its military operations in Rafah.

Here's what else to know:

Death toll: At least 45 people were killed and over 200 wounded in the strike, according to the Gaza ministry of health. Most of them were women and children, according to the Palestinian authorities. Footage obtained by CNN showed the camp in flames, with scores of men, women and children frantically trying to find cover from the nighttime assault. Burned bodies, including those of children, could be seen being pulled by rescuers from the wreckage.

US response: A National Security Council spokesperson said Monday that the strike was “heartbreaking," adding that the United States was “actively engaging” with officials in Israel to determine what precisely happened.

International reaction: UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the strike, saying "This horror must stop." Other international figures who weighed in included French President Emmanuel Macron, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

Another strike: An Israeli airstrike on a home in the Al-Zarqa neighborhood of northern Gaza on Monday killed at least five people, including a 4-year-old girl, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza. CNN video in the aftermath shows rescue workers sifting through what remained of the building, searching for survivors in near-complete darkness.

Hospital in Rafah closes: The Kuwaiti Hospital in central Rafah was forced to close on Monday after the Israeli military attacks increased around the hospital. Recent, “repeated and deliberate” attacks by Israeli forces had led to the death of two staff working in the hospital, as well as the injury of five medical staff, according to Dr. Suhaib Al-Hims, director of the Kuwaiti hospital. The remaining medical teams were being transferred to a field hospital that is being prepared in the Al-Mawasi area of Gaza, Al-Hims said.

Egypt-Israel tensions: The Israeli attack on the border corridor creates an “uncontrollable situation, in the field and psychologically, that can lead to an escalation,” Egyptian state-affiliated Al-Qahera News reported Monday, citing an Egyptian security source. An Egyptian military spokesperson said a person was killed during a shooting incident. Israel’s military also acknowledged that a shooting occurred.