Photo: Collected
India is deeply concerned about Israel's recent airstrike on a refugee camp in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, but notes that the Israeli authorities have assumed responsibility for the incident and launched an investigation, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said on Thursday (30 May).
"The heartbreaking loss of civilian lives in the displacement camp in Rafah is a matter of deep concern for us. We have consistently called for protection of civilian population and respect for international humanitarian law in the ongoing conflict. We also note that the Israeli side has already accepted responsibility for it as a tragic incident and announced an investigation into the incident," Jaiswal told reporters.
On Sunday, Israel struck a refugee camp northeast of Rafah. The Palestinian civil defense service said that at least 40 people died and dozens were injured as a result. On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the airstrike on the refugee camp a "tragic incident," adding that an investigation is underway. The Israel Defense Forces said that it used "precise munitions."
Israel sent troops into the city of Rafah on May 7, seven months after an attack by Palestinian movement Hamas on Israeli territory unleashed the worst escalation of conflict in the Gaza Strip in decades. Israel's war cabinet vowed to expand the operation in Rafah until it accomplished its declared goal of eliminating all Hamas fighters.
