Benjamin Netanyahu comments on the Rafah airstrike: It is a tragic accident

On Sunday evening, the Israeli army launched an attack on the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 45 people. Many others have severe burns. The attack was intended to be a response to Hamas' recent sending of rockets to Tel Aviv. It was aimed at two Hamas leaders who were eliminated as a result. The Israeli army argues that it was a “precision strike” using specialized ammunition with “reduced warheads.”

Attack on Rafah. Netanyahu: Tragic accident

The Israeli Prime Minister commented on the attack on Rafah during his speech in the Israeli Parliament. Netanyahu said it was critical that Israel take “every possible precaution” to protect civilians.

“We have already evacuated approximately one million civilians in Rafah and despite our best efforts not to harm civilians, something unfortunately went tragically wrong,” he said, referring to yesterday's attack. In response, opposition MPs drowned out the Prime Minister's speech with screams. – We are investigating the incident and will draw conclusions as this is our policy – added.

The attack was criticized by many Western leaders. The spokesman for the US National Security Council also commented on the deaths of civilians, defending Israel's right to counterattack. “Israel has the right to attack Hamas, and we understand that this attack killed two senior Hamas terrorists who were responsible for attacks on Israeli civilians,” he said. “But as we have made clear, Israel must take all possible precautions to protect civilians,” he added.

An Egyptian border guard was killed in an exchange of fire with the Israeli military

At the same time, on Monday, there was an exchange of fire between Israeli and Egyptian soldiers at the border crossing in Rafah. An Egyptian border guard was killed in the incident.

“A few hours ago (Monday), there was shooting on the Egyptian border. The incident is being investigated and talks are ongoing with the Egyptians,” the Israeli military said in a statement.

According to unofficial reports from Arab and Israeli media, fire was allegedly opened on Israeli soldiers from the Egyptian side.