An Israeli airstrike Sunday night caused a fire in a crowded tent city for displaced Palestinian civilians in Rafah, killing at least 45 people and wounding another 249, Gaza’s health ministry said. The strike and deadly fire came just days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to halt its offensive on Rafah, the southernmost city in the territory. (Reuters)
Our Take
The Israeli strike on Sunday has drawn widespread international condemnation, most notably from several leaders in Europe. French President Emmanuel Macron said he was “outraged” by the blast and that there are “no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian civilians.” The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, called for Israel to halt its operations in Rafah, a sentiment echoed by the foreign ministers of Spain and Germany, as well as Italy’s defense minister, among other high-level officials in Europe.
Leaders from European countries that support Israel have been shifting their rhetoric on the war in Gaza for some time now, in part because of a broader shift among the populations of those countries. In the nearly eight months since the Israel-Hamas war began, European leaders have faced growing calls to do more to pressure Israel to protect Palestinian civilians, while support for Israel’s operations in Gaza has decreased. That’s true even in Germany, where support for Israel’s security has been considered a consensus issue since World War II.