Dozens of civilians in Gaza were killed by Israel this week following a controversial airstrike in a so-called "safe zone" in the southern Gaza enclave of Rafah.
The attack took place in western Rafah's Tel al-Sultan neighborhood. The death toll as of this writing has risen to 45, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Tel al-Sultan is an area of western Rafah where Israel had previously instructed Palestinian refugees to flee, calling it a "safe zone." Then, out of nowhere, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) bombed the neighborhood, killing dozens of innocents.
"Outraged by the Israeli strikes that have killed many displaced persons in Rafah," tweeted French President Emmanuel Macron following the attack.
"These operations must stop. There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian civilians," Macron added, further issuing a call for "full respect for international law and an immediate ceasefire."
Also commenting on the attack was European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who said he was "horrified" to hear about it.
"I condemn this in the strongest terms," Borrell said in a statement. "There is no safe place in Gaza."
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World condemns Israel for "barbaric" attack
Borrell, Macron and others continue to call on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and other international bodies to put a stop to the Rafah offensive, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is committed to completing.
Labour leader Keir Starmer told reporters that once elected prime minister of the United Kingdom next month – Starmer is running for office against Rishi Sunak – he will work towards an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
"Those scenes, those reports are horrifying," Starmer said. "What makes it worse is that this was a safe zone, with women and children in it, families that had already fled a number of times."
"I was shocked by what I saw overnight. I think any human being would be shocked by what they saw overnight," he added, noting that these civilian casualties are an "inevitable consequence" of Israel's military operation in Rafah.
Jeremy Corbyn, a left-wing politician, joined the chorus of condemnation by calling the strike "a monstrous failure of humanity."
Turkish President Recep Tayyib Erdogan vowed to hold "barbaric" Netanyahu accountable for the attack, which had "nothing to do with humanity," in his opinion.
As you may recall from earlier in the month, Turkey ended all trade with Israel over its actions in Gaza. This included the termination of a long-term free trade agreement that the two nations maintained with one another.
The attack occurred just two days after the ICJ, the United Nations' (UN) top court, ordered an immediate ceasefire in Rafah, stating that it could constitute a violation of Israel's obligations under the Genocide Convention.
Then there was Egypt's foreign minister who described the attack as "deliberate," meaning he believes Israel intentionally waged it against Palestinian civilians. He also called it "another flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and Fourth Geneva Convention."
Qatar also chimed in to condemn the attack in "the strongest terms." Like the other condemning nations, Qatar agrees that Israeli authorities need to adhere to whatever the ICJ decides because it is up to the international community to:
"... prevent the occupation forces from implementing their plans aimed at forcibly displaced civilians from the city which has become a final refuge for hundreds of thousands of displaced people in the Gaza Strip."
Israel is determined to finish the job in Rafah no matter what the world thinks about it. Find out more about what happens next at Genocide.news.
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