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No, Media, Israel Didn’t Strike a Refugee Camp in Rafah
Fire rages following an Israeli strike amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, in this still picture taken from a video, May 26, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Reuters TV
An independent military investigation is underway to ascertain exactly what happened following an Israeli airstrike on two senior Hamas commanders in Rafah on Sunday night, which also led to a fire that killed a number of Gazan civilians.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the deaths as “tragic,” and said Israel had been working to protect civilians by evacuating one million Palestinians from Rafah. “Despite our efforts not to hurt them, there was a tragic mishap. We are investigating the incident. For us it’s a tragedy, for Hamas, it’s a strategy,” he said.
A US official reportedly said that the likely cause of the blaze was shrapnel from the strike hitting and igniting a fuel tank, with the fire then spreading to a nearby encampment.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military stated that it suspects munitions or another explosive substance, of which it was unaware, caused the secondary blast and fire.
The IDF also confirmed that the strike occurred outside a designated humanitarian zone.
“Strike on Rafah Refugee Camp”
Despite the evidence, several leading news outlets have suggested that Israel directly struck or targeted the encampment.
The Guardian accused Israel of carrying out a “deadly” airstrike on “on tents housing displaced Palestinians,” while The Los Angeles Times also claimed that the IDF had killed dozens in a “strike on a tent camp…”
As tragic as this incident was, Israel did not carry out an airstrike “on refugee tents.”
The IDF targeted senior Hamas terrorists outside of the designated humanitarian zone. Despite @guardian‘s headline, Israel does not deliberately target civilians.https://t.co/Gs1xSHcrbo pic.twitter.com/GPmjE9nHXe
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) May 28, 2024
Meanwhile, the Associated Press also cited “health officials” in Gaza, who claimed at least 45 people had been killed when a strike “hit a tent camp” and caused a large fire.
The BBC quoted the incendiary comments made by the Irish deputy prime minister, Micheál Martin, saying he had “condemned an Israeli air strike on a camp for displaced Palestinians, describing it as ‘barbaric’.”
Like the AP, ABC News also referenced unverified Gaza health ministry figures without stating it is operated by Hamas.
Just wow. @ABC literally republishes the statement of a terrorist org. This isn’t verified info from an independent health ministry, it’s the unverified claims & propaganda of Hamas.
At least have the honesty to tell your readers where it came from.https://t.co/e5A0d4l2sP pic.twitter.com/KDDeBLoRPN
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) May 28, 2024
The New York Times implied malice on Israel’s part in a piece headlined, “Charred Bodies and Screams” which describes “scenes of horror after an airstrike at a camp.”
Every single civilian death is horrific. It still doesn’t mean Israel targets civilians.
Israel struck & killed two Hamas leaders. Right now, investigations are underway to understand what exactly led to the tragic civilian casualties.
Shame on you @nytimes for implying malice. pic.twitter.com/08BQA0pJIx
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) May 28, 2024
It was a deliberate choice by these media outlets to frame the tragic Rafah incident as an intentional Israeli attack on Palestinian civilians sheltering in a refugee encampment.
This is part of a recurring pattern, where these outlets prematurely — and without evidence — suggest that Israel is guilty of grave war crimes.
The media have a duty to get the facts right, and to report fairly and truthfully. In the context of war, where every piece of misreporting can have potentially devastating consequences, this duty becomes even more critical. Lives depend on it.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post No, Media, Israel Didn’t Strike a Refugee Camp in Rafah first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.