The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) responded with outrage to reports of the deaths of several Palestinians in a suspected Israeli airstrike on the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah.
These are “outrageous and unspeakable,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter on Saturday.
“Reports that tents sheltering displaced people in Rafah were bombed – reportedly killing 11 people and injuring 50, including children – are outrageous and unspeakable,” he said.
His comments came in response to the statement by the Gaza health authority, controlled by Islamist Hamas, saying at least 11 Palestinians were killed and 50 were injured in the suspected Israeli attack. The information could not be independently verified.
Two health workers were among those killed, according to the WHO chief.
Health workers and civilians must be protected at all times, he said. “We urge Israel to cease fire.”
In the evening, the Israeli military said it attacked a group of fighters from the Islamic Jihad militia, aligned with Hamas.
The Rafah attack was aimed specifically at the terrorists and no damage had been caused to a nearby hospital, it said, although this information also could not be independently verified.
Hamas said tents belonging to refugees in front of the entrance to a hospital were hit and that a paramedic and a nurse at the hospital were among the casualties.
Some 1.5 million people have crowded into Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza on the border with Egypt. Most are refugees who have fled fighting in other parts of the coastal strip and are housed in tents without adequate sanitary facilities or health care.