US laments ‘devastating’ Rafah strike, urges Israel to better protect civilians
White House response less critical than others issued after similar incidents throughout the war, says ‘Israel has right to go after Hamas, but must take every precaution’
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
The US on Monday lamented the “devastating” and “heartbreaking” images from an IDF missile strike carried out the previous night, which targeted two senior Hamas officials, but also reportedly killed dozens of displaced Palestinian civilians sheltering in tents in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
“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, but, as we’ve been clear, Israel must take every precaution possible to protect civilians,” said a statement from a National Security Council spokesperson.
While the White House indicated a degree of disappointment with Israel over the high civilian toll, its statement was notably less critical than previous dressing-downs that the Biden administration has not shied away from giving in recent months.
“We are actively engaging the IDF and partners on the ground to assess what happened,” the spokesperson added, indicating that the White House may have more to say on the matter after more information is gathered.
In April, after an IDF strike killed seven humanitarian workers, US President Joe Biden said he was “outraged” by the attack and threatened to fundamentally shift his policy in the Gaza war if Israel did not take significant steps to improve the desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Earlier this month, Biden warned that he would halt certain offensive weapons shipments to Israel if it launched an offensive in the population centers of Rafah.
Two US officials told the Axios news site on Monday that the White House was still assessing whether Sunday’s strike violated that red line set by Biden.
Just last week, the White House indicated its satisfaction with Israel’s shifting from its initial Rafah plans to a more limited operation.
Sunday’s strike drew fiercer condemnations from the European Union, the United Nations, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, France, and others, who called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Israel acted relatively quickly to acknowledge wrongdoing, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying, “Despite our efforts not to harm [civilians], there was a tragic mishap. We are investigating the incident.”
The airstrike in the Tel Sultan area of western Rafah targeted and killed the commander of Hamas’s so-called West Bank headquarters — charged with advancing attacks against Israel in and from the West Bank — as well as another top member of the unit.
Hamas health authorities said some 45 people were killed in the strike, which also engulfed several tents and shelters where thousands of people were taking shelter in the area — many of whom after having been repeatedly displaced due to the war.
The IDF said that an independent military body responsible for investigating unusual incidents during the war will probe the Sunday night strike.
The army said it carried out the attack after receiving intelligence that senior Hamas commanders Yassin Rabia and Khaled Najjar were in the area. It claimed that it took “many steps” to reduce civilian harm and believed that non-combatants would be protected.
A military source said that two missiles with a “reduced in size” warhead, which were adapted for such targets, were used in the strike.
The IDF added that the strike did not take place in the designated “humanitarian zone” in the al-Mawasi region on the coast, where the military has called Palestinians to evacuate to in recent weeks. Palestinians say that the zone is completely overcrowded, forcing them to find adjacent areas to shelter.
The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas’s October 7 massacre, which saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 252 hostages amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.
Roughly 36,000 Palestinians have been killed and 80,420 have been injured in the Israeli military offensive against Hamas since October 7, according to the Gaza health ministry run by the terror group.
These figures have not been verified and only some 25,000 fatalities have been identified at hospitals. The tolls include some 15,000 terror operatives Israel says it has killed in battle. Israel also says it killed some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.
