45 killed in Israeli air strike on Rafah camp, drawing wide condemnation

World leaders urge a halt to offensive after the attack in an area designated a safe zone

CAIRO - An Israeli air strike triggered a massive blaze that killed at least 45 people in a tent camp in the Gaza city of Rafah, drawing condemnation from global leaders on May 27 who urged the implementation of a World Court ruling to halt Israel's offensive.

In scenes grimly familiar from a war in its eighth month, Palestinian families rushed to hospitals to prepare their dead for burial after the strike late on the evening of May 26 set tents and rickety shelters ablaze.

Women wept and men held prayers beside bodies in shrouds.

"The whole world is witnessing Rafah getting burned up by Israel, and no one is doing anything to stop it," Rafah resident Bassam said, via a chat app, of the strike in an area of western Rafah that has been designated a safe zone.

Survivors said families were preparing to sleep when the strike hit.

"We were praying... and we were getting our children's beds ready to sleep. There was nothing unusual.

Then, we heard a very loud noise, and fire erupted around us," said Ms Umm Mohamed Al-Attar.

"All the children started screaming... The sound was terrifying. We felt like the metal was about to collapse on us, and shrapnel fell into the rooms," she said.

The attack took place in the Tel Al-Sultan neighbourhood, where thousands were sheltering after Israeli forces began a ground offensive in the east of Rafah more than two weeks ago.