The Israeli army announced today that a preliminary investigation into the airstrike that ignited a deadly fire that killed dozens in the southern city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip has shown that the fire may have been ignited by a secondary explosion, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA .
The chief spokesman of Israel's army, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said today that two 17-kilogram projectiles were fired at two senior leaders of the Palestinian militant group "Hamas". He noted that these munitions are too small to cause a fire by themselves.
Hagari added that the army is investigating the possibility that weapons were stored in the area of the targets, from which a secondary explosion came.
According to the Palestinian health authorities, at least 45 people, half of them women and children, died in the Israeli strike in question on Sunday.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, called the strike in Rafah a "bloody massacre," Reuters reported. He called for the implementation of Friday's ruling by the UN International Court of Justice in The Hague, which ordered Israel to immediately halt its advance in Rafah.
At the same time, British Foreign Minister David Cameron called for a quick investigation into the Israeli airstrikes in Rafah, DPA informed. The former Prime Minister of Great Britain regarding the information about the investigation of the Israeli army and the statement of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that what happened on Sunday was a "tragic mistake".
"Shock footage after weekend strikes in Rafah. The investigation of the Israel Defense Forces must be swift, comprehensive and transparent, Cameron wrote on the social platform X.
"There is an urgent need for an agreement to release the hostages, reach humanitarian aid to the Palestinians and a ceasefire that will allow work towards a long-term and sustainable truce,", Cameron also said.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the health ministry of the Hamas movement, which controls the Gaza Strip, said today that 18 people were killed in new Israeli attacks in Rafah, DPA reported. According to the information, these victims are from last night. DPA makes the stipulation that this data cannot be independently verified.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced today that its units are still deployed around Rafah, with servicemen conducting "precision operations" near the border with Egypt based on intelligence about terrorist sites.
"Military personnel are fighting terrorists and discovering tunnel entrances, weapons and other terrorist infrastructure in this area," the IDF statement reads.