Israeli Airstrike in Tel al-Sultan, Rafah, Gaza, Palestinian Territories, Kills Two Hamas Officials and Triggers Fire Reported to Kill at Least 45

An Israeli airstrike in the Tel al-Sultan area of western Rafah killed two “senior Hamas terrorists” and triggered a fire that killed dozens of Palestinian civilians, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Gaza health authorities. The BBC, citing the Hamas-run health ministry, reported that at least 45 people, including women and children, were killed in the strike on a camp for displaced Palestinians.

The New York Times reported that the Gaza Health Ministry said the strike killed at least 45 people on Sunday night and wounded 249. The Israeli military said it was looking into reports that “several civilians in the area were harmed” by the airstrike and a subsequent fire. The IDF told reporters the incident was a “tragic mishap” and said it was investigating the circumstances of the civilian deaths, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a “tragedy.” Opening a formal inquiry into civilian deaths reflects the discipline of honest examination (Proverbs 18:17).

The IDF said it was examining whether a hidden store of weapons or other combustibles caused secondary blasts that helped spread the fire after the airstrike targeted an adjacent area in Rafah. IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told an English-language press conference: “Sadly, following the strike, due to unforeseen circumstances, a fire ignited, taking the lives of Gazan civilians nearby.”

The IDF said it “targeted a closed structure away from the tent area” and stated that “There are no tents in the immediate vicinity.” The Southern Command submitted initial investigation findings to IDF Chief of Staff Major General Herzi Halevi. According to those findings, the point of attack was defined as an area from which Hamas carried out terrorist operations, and a Hamas rocket launcher was “Some 47 meters from the point of attack.”

The United States urged Israel to take every precaution to protect civilians after what it called “devastating images” from the Rafah strike, while saying it understood the strike had killed two senior Hamas terrorists. The Times of Israel reported that the IDF opened a probe into the strike and that the top-tier General Staff Fact-Finding Assessment Mechanism would investigate unusual incidents during the war.

Netanyahu vowed to continue fighting in Gaza despite mounting international condemnation. He said Israel had attempted to keep civilians safe by evacuating one million Palestinians from Rafah. The BBC reported that the Israel Defense Forces had seized control of the Gazan side of the Rafah border crossing and were discussing a shooting incident with Egyptian authorities, while Egypt’s military investigated the incident in which a member of Egyptian security forces was killed.

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