This handout satellite image courtesy of Maxar Technologies shows a view of the displacement camp in the Tal al-Sultan area of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, near a UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) facility, on May 29, 2024. A strike on Tal Al-Sultan late on May 26 that Israel said targeted Hamas militants killed 45 people, according to Palestinian officials.
| Photo Credit: AFP

The loss of Palestinian lives in the recent Israeli bombing of Rafah is “heartbreaking”, India said on Thursday.

Nearly 45 Palestinians, including children, were killed when Israeli bombs hit tents housing displaced persons in Rafah on May 26. The Indian stand on the carnage was shared by the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, during the weekly press briefing.

He also highlighted that India had recognised the Palestinian state way back in the late 1980s.

“The heartbreaking loss of civilian lives in the displacement camp in Rafah is a matter of deep concern. We have consistently called for protection of civilian population and respect for international humanitarian law in the ongoing conflict. We also note that the Israeli side has already accepted responsibility for it as a tragic accident and announced an investigation into the incident,” said Mr. Jaiswal.

Two-state solution

The bombing of the tents that housed displaced Gazans heightened the global outrage against the ongoing Israeli campaign in the Gaza Strip that has so far killed more than 36,000 people. This incident coincided with Spain, Ireland and Norway granting recognition to the Palestinian state. In response to a question, Mr. Jaiswal reiterated India’s support for a “two-state solution” to the Israel-Palestinian crisis.

“We have long supported a two-state solution, which entails the establishment of a sovereign, viable, and independent state of Palestine within recognised and mutually agreed borders, living side by side with Israel in peace,” said Mr. Jaiswal when asked about the move by Ireland, Norway and Spain.

‘Objective view’ in Pakistan

The official spokesperson also took note of the remarks by former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that Islamabad had violated the 1999 Lahore pact signed by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Mr. Sharif on February 21, 1999, However, months later, the Kargil war broke out.

“You are aware of our position on the issue. I need not have to reiterate that. We note that there is an objective view emerging in Pakistan as well on this matter,” Mr. Jaiswal said to a question during the interaction.

Earlier acknowledging that Pakistani missteps in 1999 that hurt the prospects of peace between India and Pakistan, Mr. Sharif said on Wednesday, “On May 28, 1998, Pakistan carried out five nuclear tests. After that Vajpayee saheb came here and we made an agreement. But we violated that agreement….it was our fault,” Mr. Sharif said, after he became the president of the PML-N for six years.  

After taking charge, the former PM, who also participated in the “mini SAARC summit” of May 2014 in Delhi, presented his version of the events that took place in Pakistan over the past three decades. He said the U.S. government under President Bill Clinton tried to stop Pakistan from going nuclear and offered $5 billion for ensuring that, but he had rejected the offer and went ahead with nuclear tests at Chagai range in Balochistan on May 28, 1998, after the Pokhran nuclear blasts by India on May 11, 1998.

India-Pakistan ties have been frozen in animosity since 2016 after India blamed Pakistan-based terror outfits for attacking military installations in Pathankot and Uri, following which India carried out a “surgical strike” along the Line of Control.

New Delhi:

The Rafah refugee camp in Gaza witnessed scenes of horror and devastation in the wake of an Israeli airstrike on Sunday. Tents were engulfed in flames, and the cries of burn victims filled the air after the attack, which the Gaza Health Ministry attributed to Israeli forces targeting displaced Palestinians seeking refuge in camps. 

Gaza’s civil defence agency reported that the death count had risen to 45 from the overnight strikes, which ignited tents and sparked widespread condemnation across the globe. The agency described the aftermath as a “massacre,” with many bodies charred beyond recognition and numerous victims suffering severe injuries.

“We saw charred bodies and dismembered limbs,” said Mohammad al-Mughayyir, an official from the civil defence agency, as quoted by news agency AFP. “We also saw cases of amputations, wounded children, women, and the elderly.”

Footage captured by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society showed chaotic scenes as paramedics worked tirelessly to evacuate the wounded, including many children. The night was filled with the sounds of sirens and the anguished cries of survivors.

“We had just finished evening prayers,” recalled one survivor. “Our children were asleep when we heard a loud sound, and suddenly there was fire all around us. The children were screaming… the sound was terrifying.”

The Israeli army claimed that their aircraft had targeted a Hamas compound in Rafah, resulting in the deaths of two senior Hamas operatives, Yassin Rabia and Khaled Nagar. They acknowledged reports of civilian casualties due to the strike and the subsequent fire, stating that the incident was under investigation.

The airstrike provoked strong reactions from neighbouring Arab nations. Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, and Qatar condemned the attack, with Qatar warning that it could hinder ongoing efforts to revive truce and hostage release talks in the Israel-Hamas conflict, which has been ongoing since October 7.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) described the attack as “horrifying” and shared on social media that the images from the site were “yet another testament” to the dire conditions in Gaza. Multiple videos showed fires raging through the camp and people desperately pulling bodies from the rubble.

By morning, the charred remains of tents and vehicles were all that was left of the refugee camp in Rafah known as the Kuwaiti Al-Salam Camp 1. An aid group, Al-Salam Association for Humanitarian and Charitable Works, reported that besides the dozens of deaths and injuries, over 120 tents and several facilities were destroyed.

Bilal al-Sapti, a 30-year-old construction worker from Rafah, recounted the devastation he witnessed. “The fire was very strong and was all over the camp,” he said. “There was darkness and no electricity.” Despite the destruction, his family miraculously survived.

“Many of the dead bodies were severely burned, had amputated limbs and were torn to pieces,” said Dr Marwan al-Hams, a healthcare worker.

The UN reported that one million civilians had fled Rafah since the start of Israel’s assault in early May, despite numerous international warnings against the escalating violence.

The conflict, the deadliest in Gaza’s history, began with a deadly attack by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7, resulting in 1,189 Israeli deaths and 252 hostages taken. Israel’s response has been relentless, with the Gaza Health Ministry reporting over 36,096 deaths, mostly civilians.