Germany calls Israeli bombing of Rafah refugee camp 'mistake'

BERLIN

Germany on Monday said it assumed that the Israeli airstrike on Rafah in the Gaza Strip, which killed at least 35 Palestinians, was a mistake.

Investigations are currently underway in Israel to determine whether it was a targeted attack, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said at a press briefing in Berlin.

“In any case, a mistake happened, you can already say that,” he added.

According to Hebestreit, the question of the motivation for the attack still needs to be examined.

At least 35 people were reportedly killed and dozens injured as Israel targeted a camp for displaced people in Rafah on Sunday.

The attack occurred near the logistics base of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in Tal al-Sultan, said the Gaza Media Office.

The Israeli aircraft targeted several tents in the area, the media office said, adding that missiles and 2,000-pound bombs were used.

Earlier, Gaza’s civil defense force said it transported 50 people, including dead and injured, after the bombing. The targeted area sheltered at least 100,000 displaced people, it said.

On Saturday, German Vice Chancellor and Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, Robert Habeck, said Israel had crossed the line by violating international law with its actions in the Gaza Strip.

When asked about the government's red lines regarding its military support to Israel, Habeck said Germany has repeatedly said the attack on Rafah was wrong and Israel should not have carried out the assault.

Emphasizing that Israel must comply with international law, Habeck said: "The famine, the suffering of the Palestinian population, the attacks in the Gaza Strip are - as we are now seeing in court - incompatible with international law."