• 45 killed, babies burned, and decapitated; no sanctions or repercussions for Israel
• Much of the West turns a blind eye to this incident, with Ireland and the EU being exceptions.
45 people, including women and children, were killed in Rafah last night after Israel bombed tents of displaced Palestinians in Rafah, very close to one of the largest UNWRA buildings in north-west Rafah.
The attack took place in the Tal As-Sultan neighbourhood, where thousands were sheltering after Israel launched its invasion into Rafah. The area attacked was described as a safe zone by Israel and was deemed an area Palestinians in Rafah could seek refuge in.
Israel has continued attacks in Rafah despite the ICJ’s ruling on Friday ordering it to stop its offensive in Rafah.
Gaza’s civil defence said many bodies were burned after the bombings caused a fire that ripped through the camp. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which operated in Rafah, said one of its field hospitals received an “influx of casualties seeking care for injuries and burns” and that “our teams are doing their best to save lives.”.
Survivors of the Rafah massacre describe what they saw.
A Palestinian father bids farewell to his 3-year-old child, who was killed by the Israeli strike.
The attack on Nuseirat that went unnoticed
On Saturday, one day before the Israeli attack on the Tal As-Sultan neighborhood that killed 45, Israel attacked the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing at least six children and injuring 20 others.
The reality of the matter is that it is not new for Israel to attack refugee camps or safe zones, as they have been doing so for a long time now.
One family in Southern Rafah who was at the refugee camp attacked last night spoke to Sky News and said his family will now have to move for the 8thtime after being displaced seven times already. “Where are we to go? Help me understand. Where are we to go?” he says, carrying a plastic tub. “How long will we be disgraced like this?”
Who is complicit in these crimes?
Israel has been allowed to continue its genocide on Gaza even with the World Court (ICJ) ordering it to stop and even with the ICC (international criminal court) making arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Netanyahu and defense minister Benny Gantz. The United States is the main backer of Israel, providing it with more military aid than any other country. Back in early May, there were official confirmed reports that Biden had frozen a bomb shipment of certain offensive munitions to Israel to deter Israel on their planned offensive into Rafah. Unfortunately, this did not deter Israel from entering Rafah, and the White House later, on May 15, said it planned on sending more than $1 billion in military aid to Israel despite being opposed to the Rafah offensive.
On the same page, the UK government the UK government continued to sell arms to Israel, showed no sign of reluctancy to do so, and was not even challenged on the matter by the opposition Labour Party in any of the PMQs (prime ministersquestions) that occur weekly. In fact, what’s worse is that both the main opposition (the Labour Party) and the conservative government have supported the genocide in Gaza since October 7th and have not pushed nor created any motion within parliament to try to call for a permanent, immediate ceasefire.
David Lammy, the Labour shadow foreign secretary of the UK, has supported the bombing of refugee camps in November and has failed to call for an immediate permanent ceasefire for most of this ongoing genocide.
Both mainstream majority parties that dominate UK politics have been complicit in this genocide and even directly or indirectly continue to support it. David Lammy, shadow foreign secretary of the opposition Labour Party, had even gone out to condemn student protests on university campuses in the United States, claiming Nelson Mandela would have been against it.
The Irish stance
After last night’s massacre, both the EU and Ireland have taken a firmer stance on the ongoing genocide. For the first time, the European Union foreign affairs minister raised the prospect of sanctions in a’real way’. Meanwhile, Ireland’s deputy prime minister, Michael Martin, said sanctions on Israel were not ‘off the table’ as he accused the nation’s officials of ignoring international courts. Although this is still not a far enough punishment for Israel and is still just a threat, a harsher stance is a step forward.
