israel-alleges-fire-caused-most-deaths-in-rafah-camp-attackIsrael alleges fire caused most deaths in Rafah camp attack
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By Luis De Jesus

May 27, 2024, 10:32 PM EDT

The first conclusions of the Israeli investigation into the attack near a camp for displaced people in Rafah indicate that the majority of the fatalities, approximately fifty, died due to a fire that broke out after the bombing.

Israeli Government spokesman Avi Hyman stated in his daily press conference: “The majority of the victims are due to a fire.”

For his part, the Army Attorney General, Major General Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi, ordered a more exhaustive investigation. For this, he commissioned the Investigation and Evaluation Mechanism of the Army General Staff to investigate the attack in Rafah, focused on high-ranking Hamas terrorist targets, Efe noted.

This independent body, made up of former military personnel, examines exceptional incidents in combat. A month ago, he investigated an Israeli attack on a humanitarian convoy of the NGO World Central Kitchen, in which seven employees were killed, six of them foreigners.

The investigation concluded that there was an “identification error” and resulted in the dismissal of two commanders.

The Israeli military, in a statement about the attack in Rafah, explained that measures were taken to reduce the risk of harm to uninvolved civilians, including aerial surveillance, precise munitions and additional intelligence information.

Palestinians carry bodies after an Israeli army raid on a camp in an area designated for displaced people in Rafah. Photo: Haitham Imad / EFE

“On the basis of these measures it was assessed that no harm to civilians was expected,” the statement cited by the news agency said.

The fire broke out more than “an hour after” the attack, which targeted an improvised infrastructure where two senior Hamas officials were allegedly hiding, located about 300 meters from the camp.

Images spread on Palestinian social media showed the huge fire that devastated the temporary tents in Tal al Sultan, with some media reporting that many victims died from asphyxiation by smoke and were burned.

The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry reported that the death toll stood at 45, including a dozen women, eight children and three elderly people. The injured total 383.

The Israeli Army justified the attack in the northwestern neighborhood of Rafah, which had not received evacuation orders, by the presence of two senior officials of the Islamist group Hamas, Yassin Rabia and Khaled Nagar.

The Israeli attack on the city bordering Egypt occurred hours after Hamas launched rockets from that location toward central Israel, including Tel Aviv, causing no injuries or serious damage.

Keep reading:
• International community “horrified” condemns Israel’s bombing of the refugee camp in Rafah
• Congressman Chris Murphy warned: Hamas returns to areas that Israel clears in military operations
• Israel announces investigation into the “serious” attack in Rafah

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