(NEW YORK) — The U.S. State Department on Tuesday expressed its “deep concern” over Israeli air strikes Sunday in the southern Gaza city of Rafah that set fire to a tent camp that housed displaced Palestinians, reportedly causing 50 deaths and injuring 249 others, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.
“As soon as the United States saw reports of this incident, we reached out to the government of Israel to express our deep concern over what happened, ask for more information and urge them to undertake a full investigation,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said during his press briefing Tuesday.
He said in response, the Israeli government had promised a more extensive review that would be “swift, comprehensive and transparent,” and that the U.S. would be “watching those results closely.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said that the incident was a “tragic mishap.”
U.S. officials told ABC News that they’ve received information from Israeli officials that they believe the strike may have ignited a nearby fuel storage tank some 100 meters away from the tent camp, or just under 330 feet.
A White House National Security Council spokesperson on Monday said that the “devastating images” coming out of Rafah are “heartbreaking.” The spokesperson also maintained the White House’s position that while Israel “has a right to go after” Hamas, it also must protect civilians.
Prior to Sunday’s attack, more than 35,709 people in Gaza had been killed and more than 79,990 injured since Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. More than 1,700 Israelis have been killed and 8,700 have been injured, according to Israeli officials.
ABC News’ Britt Clennett, in Tel Aviv, Israel, heard from people who said they essentially watched their neighbors being burned alive. She spoke with “Start Here” about the air strikes, and developments in their aftermath.
START HERE: Britt, what happened here?
CLENNETT: So we saw those images – screams of horror we could hear and what looked like a burning inferno. The frightful, frantic moments just after Israeli strikes really engulfed a refugee camp in western Rafah on Sunday night. There were desperate attempts to put out the flames and pull out anyone that they could from the blaze. Many people treated with severe burns and shrapnel injuries. There were images of charred and dismembered bodies, you know, and these are the images prompting an outcry now from global leaders.
START HERE: But Britt, what was the strike? What was the intent of it? Was this focused on a civilian community, or what happened?
CLENNETT: So the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) said that this was a bombing that targeted senior Hamas militants in a precision strike, which really appears to have ignited fires that spread very quickly through those tents and makeshift accommodation. Israeli officials have now spent much of the time in the aftermath of this scrambling to find out what went wrong in Rafah. You know, how did this precision strike, many people are asking, using specialized munitions with reduced warheads, you know, result in a firestorm which killed dozens and injured scores more? Then we heard from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said the strike on Sunday was a tragic mishap and that the Israelis are carrying out an investigation into what went wrong.
START HERE: What was the reaction? Because that also seems like part of the story as well, right? Reaction not just from Gaza but from around the world.
CLENNETT: There are a lot of aid groups lining up to condemn this strike. Israel’s government is facing diplomatic pressure on unprecedented levels over its war in Gaza, while also dealing with pressure at home to return the hostages. Now, this strike – one of the deadliest we’ve seen in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza – it came just two days after the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which arbitrates between states, ordered Israel to stop its operation in Rafah immediately. So some aid groups are saying, well, this is a slap in the face. And we’ve heard from the U.N.’s human rights chief, who said the attack suggested that there had been no apparent change in the methods and the means of warfare used by Israel that have already led to so many civilian deaths. So this is expected to have a lot of geopolitical weight, and it adds to this growing isolation that we’re seeing of Israel on the world stage.
START HERE: That makes me think of the U.S. response, because President Biden had talked about the consequences of firing on civilian areas. Does this cross a threshold for the U.S. now?
CLENNETT: Rafah has always been a major sticking point. Now, we have heard from the National Security Council spokesperson calling the images out of Rafah devastating and heartbreaking, adding that Israel must protect civilians, though maintaining the White House position that Israel has a right to go after Hamas. We know that that is something that the white House has said, that Israel has a right to self-defend and to defend its civilians. However, in the face of growing condemnation and the fact that the U.S. is a supplier of arms which are used in Gaza, this all combined creates a lot of pressure for Biden.
START HERE: Can we talk about the wider view of Rafah here? How populated is it even right now? Because I know Israel had issued evacuation orders to, you know, get out of Rafah. It’s not safe here anymore. But it seems so difficult to move safely. It seems like people are unclear what awaits them anywhere else. But if you do stay there, does it seem like more of this is going to be on the way?
CLENNETT: So the population of Rafah was about 1.4 million before people started to move around. The U.N. said 800,000 people, about half of the Rafah population, had evacuated. As soon as I heard about these strikes, I spoke to a family who I have been speaking to since the start of this war. They’ve moved five times, and now they’re in western Rafah. They said that they could hear the ambulances, that they could hear the explosions. And so I think it was important that, you know, we are reminded that these are real people with real stories, with real lives.
And when I asked this family, you know, “Are you going to leave?” They said, well, we haven’t had the directive from the IDF yet. But certainly, all these strikes are creating so much fear for them that they’re wondering whether they should just pack their bags again and go. The question is, where do you go when aid groups are saying nowhere is safe in Gaza right now?
START HERE: And that is the phrase that U.N. representatives have been saying, that it is literally not safe anywhere. So good luck finding some neighborhood that’s going to be unaffected from here on out. Britt Clennett, there in Tel Aviv, thank you so much.
Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group. (Photo by EYAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war crosses the seven-month mark, negotiations are apparently stalled to secure the release of hostages taken by the terrorist organization, and Israeli forces continue to launch incursions in the southern Gazan town of Rafah ahead of a possible large-scale invasion.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
May 28, 5:15 PM Newly released video shows Israeli hostage in captivity
A video showing Israeli hostage Alexsander Trufanov, who was captured by Hamas on Oct. 7, was publicly released by the Hostage Families Forum on Tuesday.
“The proof of life from Alexsander (Sasha) Trufanov is additional evidence that the Israeli government must give a significant mandate to the negotiating team, which will be able to lead to a deal for the return of all the hostages – the living to rehabilitation and the murdered to burial,” the Hostage Families Forum said in the release with the video.
Israel submitted a new cease-fire proposal to negotiators in Egypt on Monday. They are now awaiting a response from Hamas, according to an Egyptian security source who spoke with ABC News.
-ABC News’ Dorit Long and Marwa Mouaki
May 28, 5:07 PM 21 killed as explosions continue in Rafah following Sunday’s deadly strike
At least 21 people were killed in an attack near the International Medical Corps American hospital as explosions continue in Rafah on Monday night and Tuesday, according to Palestinians on the ground and local authorities.
Of the 21 people killed, 14 of them were female, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said Tuesday. Their ages have not yet been released.
These bombings were not in the exact same location as the strike on May 26 that killed 50 people and injured at least 249 others.
-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz
May 28, 4:42 PM Nikki Haley signs artillery shells in Israel: ‘Finish them! America loves Israel!’
Former U.S. presidential candidate and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley visited the northern Israeli border on Tuesday, meeting with Israeli soldiers and Israelis.
During her visit, Haley visited an Israel Defense Forces post with soldiers serving on the northern border.
Haley stopped and signed artillery shells, writing, “Finish them! America loves Israel!” on some of them.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
May 28, 3:51 PM 1 million Palestinians have now fled Rafah: UNRWA
One million Palestinians have been forced to flee Rafah over the last three weeks in search of safety, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
Heavy bombardment continued in Gaza overnight, including in Tal Al Sultan, where the U.N. main offices in Gaza are located, according to UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.
Most of the UNRWA staff could not make it to work as they are packing up and moving. The UNRWA is also running out of medical supplies and basic human medicines, according to Lazzarini.
Just over 200 trucks with humanitarian supplies were picked up in southern Gaza in the last three weeks as needs continue to increase exponentially, Lazzarini said.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
May 28, 3:46 PM UN secretary-general condemns Rafah strike, says ICJ ruling is ‘binding’
The United Nations secretary-general has condemned the deadly strike on Rafah “in the strongest terms,” saying Antonio Guterres is “heartbroken by the images of the killed and injured,” his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said in a statement Tuesday.
“The Secretary-General reiterates his demand for an immediate ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. He recalls the recent orders of the International Court of Justice, which are binding and must be complied with,” Dujarric said.
“The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is now compounded by the unconscionable prospect of a man-made famine,” Dujarric said.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
May 28, 3:45 PM Sunday’s Rafah strike ‘shouldn’t have happened,’ IDF says
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani admitted to a “mishap” in Sunday’s Rafah strike that killed 50 Palestinians and injured at least 249 others, saying it was a “tragic incident that shouldn’t have happened.”
“The outcome is not the outcome we had in mind when this operation started. That’s why we’re investigating it. It’s a tragic event and it’s not the way we operate. We are fighting with Hamas terrorists. We are trying to kill them specifically in a very precise way, intelligence based. And that’s why we look at this as a tragic incident that shouldn’t have happened,” Shoshani said.
Over 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the strike a “tragic mishap” on Monday.
“The mishap was the fire that carried out after the targeted attack, and we are looking into why this fire caught on,” Shoshani said. “The attack, per se, was according to procedure, with surveillance before the attack, a very precise attack based on intelligence.”
-ABC News’ Britt Clennett
May 28, 3:27 PM Barely any medical facilities functioning, Palestinian Ministry of Health says
There are barely any functioning medical facilities in Rafah as the Israel Defense Forces continue its operations, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said Tuesday.
“Both the Indonesian field hospital and the Tal Al-Sultan Clinic in Rafah Governorate have ceased service, leaving only the Tal Al-Sultan Maternity Hospital struggling to survive and continue providing service to patients in Rafah,” according to the ministry.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
May 28, 3:18 PM Israel makes new cease-fire proposal, now awaiting Hamas response
Israel put forward a new cease-fire proposal and hostage release deal on Monday, which has now been passed on to Hamas, an Egyptian security source told ABC News.
Mediators are awaiting a response from Hamas within 24 hours, the source said.
This is the first time Israel has taken the first move to submit a draft proposal since the war began, according to the source. Previous proposals have been initiated by Egyptian and Qatari mediators.
The source said talks could resume soon, without providing an exact timeline.
-ABC News’ Ayat Al-Tawy
May 28, 3:12 PM ‘Tragic doesn’t even begin to describe it,’ Harris says of IDF strike in Rafah
Vice President Kamala Harris weighed in on the IDF strike in Rafah that killed 50 civilians and injured 249 more, saying, “The word ‘tragic’ doesn’t even begin to describe it.”
She did not comment when asked if this crosses a red line for the administration. President Joe Biden has yet to weigh in.
May 28, 10:31 AM ‘No justice in the world’: Palestinian man’s wife killed in Rafah strike
Days after a deadly strike on Rafah killed 50 Palestinians and injured at least 249 others, a father of five who lost his wife told ABC News his family fled from Beit Lahia to Deir al-Balah — in the south of Gaza — before heading to Rafah for safety.
“One of my disabled sons had his leg amputated and my wife was killed. What injustice is this?” Murid Saadi Agha told ABC News. “There is no justice in the world. Israel is above all the law.”
“I hold America and Israel responsible. We are innocent,” he said.
Three of Agha’s children have already lost limbs in the war.
“After sunset, my wife and I were sitting here outside the shelter with our neighbors, and my disabled son was feeding his other disabled brother, who is older than him. Even the Indomie that he was eating was still here,” he said, describing the aftermath of the deadly Rafah strike.
“There was a very intense explosion. My wife declared once that the shrapnel entered her chest and killed her. I went to my sons and found that one of them had an amputated foot, as the shrapnel entered from the top and from the side. There were many martyrs here. It was a massacre,” he said.
May 28, 9:21 AM Israel continues Rafah strikes as Palestinian death toll surpasses 36,000
Strikes on Rafah have continued, barely 48 hours since an Israeli airstrike near a camp of displaced people killed 50 and injured 249 others. The continued offensive comes as at least 36,050 Palestinians have been killed since Oct. 7 and 81,026 others have been injured.
The Israel Defense Forces said their ongoing Rafah operation is “precise.”
The Israeli military’s deadly airstrike in Rafah on Sunday night hit an area about 650 feet away from the boundary of an IDF-designated “humanitarian area,” according to an ABC News analysis of geolocated images and the IDF’s statements and maps.
The U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency meeting later Tuesday to discuss Sunday’s strike on Rafah.
At least one million people have fled Rafah in the past three weeks, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
May 27, 4:30 PM Kuwait Specialized hospital in Rafah out of service
The Kuwait Specialized Hospital in Rafah, one of its largest, announced that the hospital had been out of service due to the expansion of the Israeli military operation on the city and the repeated and deliberate targeting of the hospital’s vicinity, hospital’s director Suhaib Al-Hams said Sunday.
The Israeli occupation repeatedly targeted the hospital, the most recent of which was targeting the hospital gate, which led to the death of two of the staff working there, as well as the injury of five members of the medical staff in a previous targeting, Al-Hams said in a press statement received by Sanad News Agency.
“We announce that the Kuwait Specialized Hospital has been out of service and the working medical teams have been transferred to the field hospital that is being prepared in the Al-Mawasi area,” Al-Hams said.
May 27, 3:39 PM Israel strike hits fuel tank, causing large fire: US official
The U.S. received information from the Israelis overnight that they believe shrapnel or something else from the strike ignited a fuel tank 100 meters away, which engulfed a tent, creating a massive fire, according to a U.S. official.
The U.S. does not have information to confirm or dispute that information. The U.S. is in the process of understanding what has happened, waiting for Israel to conduct its own investigation and determining what action to take next, according to the official.
The U.S. maintains that while they’ve warned about a major ground offensive in Rafah, that’s not what’s happening, according to the official.
May 27, 3:37 PM Hamas leader says Rafah strike shows Israel is defying international law
Commenting on the Rafah strike that killed 50 people, Hamas released a statement saying Israel’s attack on Rafah is like “the announcement of Netanyahu’s government’s defiance of international justice decisions,” referring to the International Court of Justice’s decision last week ordering Israel to stop its operation in Rafah.
“The massacre committed in the areas where its considered safe area,” Hamas leader Osama Hamdan said. “The timing of these murders during the last two days is like the announcement of Netanyahu’s government’s defiance of international justice decisions.”
May 27, 6:17 PM Netanyahu calls strike on Rafah a ‘tragic mishap’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the strike on Rafah which killed at least 50 Palestinians Sunday, a “tragic mishap,” in a speech to Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, Monday.
“We are fighting with force in the north of the Gaza Strip, in its center, its south and in Rafah. In Rafah we have already evacuated about a million uninvolved residents and despite our best efforts not to harm the un-involved, unfortunately a tragic mishap happened last night. We are investigating the case and will draw the conclusions because this is our policy,” Netanyahu said.
May 27, 2:45 PM Death toll from Israeli strike rises to 50
At least 50 people have been confirmed dead in Israel’s strike on Rafah, with a number of victims still under the rubble, the Gaza Health Ministry said in a statement Monday. Ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them the victims, the statement noted.
Since Oct. 7, 36,050 people have been killed in Gaza and 81,026 others have been injured.
“Never before in history has such a large number of mass killing tools been amassed and employed together in front of the world as is happening now in Gaza, where the population is deprived of water, food, medicine, electricity, and fuel, crushing the infrastructure, destroying all institutions, disrupting sanitation, spreading epidemics, crushing the health system, implementing the siege, closing crossings, and preventing the entry of medical supplies and delegations,” the Gaza Health Ministry said.
May 27, 2:15 PM Egyptian border guard killed in shooting at Rafah border
An Egyptian border guard was killed in a shooting in the Rafah border area with Gaza, Egypt’s military spokesman said in a statement on Monday.
“The Egyptian armed forces, through the competent authorities, are investigating a shooting incident in the Rafah border area which led to the martyrdom of one of the security personnel on duty,” the statement said.
The Israeli military had earlier reported an exchange of fire on the Egyptian border and said it was discussing the incident with Egypt.
“A few hours ago (Monday), a shooting incident occurred on the Egyptian border. The incident is under review and discussions are being held with the Egyptians,” the IDF said.
Initial investigations into an incident that killed an Egyptian border guard indicate the incident occurred while there was an exchange of fire between Israeli forces and “the Palestinian resistance,” an Egyptian security source told Egypt’s state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV on Monday.
In October 2023, weeks after the war started, Israel said one of its military tanks mistakenly fired at an Egyptian position near the border with Gaza. Egypt said at the time that several army personnel were slightly injured.
Tensions between Egypt and Israel have escalated after Israeli forces earlier this month seized control of the Rafah border crossing, a key entry point for humanitarian aid. Egypt said it would not reopen its side of the crossing unless it is operated by Palestinians and accused Israel of preventing aid deliveries.
May 27, 1:52 PM UNRWA commissioner general calls scenes of Rafah after strike ‘hell on earth’
The images that have emerged after the Israeli strike on Rafah are a “testament to how Rafah has turned into hell on earth,” Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, said in a post on X.
“Children and women living in tented plastic makeshift shelters are among the killed. Many were injured. Others were reportedly burnt to death. The images from last night are testament to how Rafah has turned into hell on earth,” Lazzarini said went on.
Some UNRWA staff are unaccounted for and it’s very hard to establish contact with UNRWA teams in Rafah, Lazzarini said, adding that the UNRWA is doing its best to bring aid to people in need in Gaza.
“UNRWA is doing everything possible not to interrupt the delivery of humanitarian assistance. But with every day passing, providing assistance & protection becomes nearly impossible,” he said.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
May 27, 1:02 PM White House says images out of Rafah are ‘heartbreaking’ but maintains Israel has ‘a right’ to go after Hamas
The “devastating images” coming out of Rafah are “heartbreaking,” a White House National Security Council spokesperson said in a statement Monday, adding that even though Israel “has a right to go after” Hamas, the country also has to protect civilians.
“Israel has a right to go after Hamas, and we understand this strike killed two senior Hamas terrorists who are responsible for attacks against Israeli civilians,” the spokesperson said. “But as we’ve been clear, Israel must take every precaution possible to protect civilians.”
The spokesperson also said that the U.S. is engaging with the Israeli authorities to figure out “what happened” in addition to the IDF investigation.
-ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart
May 27, 12:18 PM ‘Outraged’: Macron calls for immediate cease-fire after Rafah attack
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned Israel’s attack on Rafah that left at least 45 people dead, saying he was “outraged” and called for “respect for international law” and an “immediate cease-fire.”
“Outraged by the Israeli strikes which caused numerous victims among the displaced in Rafah. These operations must stop. There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian civilians. I call for full respect for international law and an immediate ceasefire,” Macron said in a post on X.
The Israel Defense Forces claimed it took several measures to protect civilians. The strike is now under investigation.
“The General Staff’s Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism is investigating the circumstances of the deaths of civilians in the area of the strike. The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians during combat,” the IDF said in a statement.
The White House has not commented on the attack yet, and the Israeli prime minister’s office has not released a statement.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
May 27, 7:58 AM Dozens killed, hundreds injured in Sunday Rafah strike, Gaza ministry says
Forty-five people were killed and 249 were injured in an IDF strike on Rafah on Sunday, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Monday.
Action Aid UK had on Sunday placed the death toll higher, saying at least 50 people were killed.
IDF officials said the strike had targeted “significant Hamas terrorists” who were operating in a Hamas compound.
“The IDF is aware of reports indicating that as a result of the strike and fire that was ignited several civilians in the area were harmed,” IDF officials said on social media. “The incident is under review.”
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Kevin Shalvey
May 26, 6:44 PM IDF claims 2 top Hamas officials killed in Rafah airstrike
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claimed two top Hamas officials were killed in the deadly airstrike in western Rafah Sunday night.
The IDF said Hamas’ Chief of Staff in the Judea and Samaria wing, Yassin Rabia, and an additional senior Hamas official, Khaled Nagar, were both killed.
“Hamas’ Judea and Samaria wing is responsible for the planning, funding, and carrying out of terror attacks throughout Judea and Samaria and within Israel,” the IDF said in a statement Sunday.
The IDF claimed Rabia was responsible for “numerous murderous terror attacks, including in 2001 and 2002, in which IDF soldiers were killed.”
The IDF also claimed Nagar “directed shooting attacks and other terrorist activities in Judea and Samaria, and transferred funds intended for Hamas’ terrorist activities in the Gaza Strip.”
“Previously, Khaled Nagar carried out several deadly terror attacks between 2001-2003 which led to the deaths of several Israeli civilians and the injury and death of several Israeli soldiers,” the IDF claimed.
The airstrike in Rafah on Sunday also resulted in the deaths of at least 50 individuals, including civilians, according to Action Aid UK.
May 26, 6:18 PM Death toll in Rafah airstrike rises to 50: Action Aid UK
The death toll in the IDF airstrike that hit western Rafah Sunday night has risen to at least 50 individuals, including civilians, according to Action Aid UK.
The organization said Israeli fighter jets launched eight missiles at makeshift shelters housing internally displaced persons next to UNRWA warehouses stocking vital aid.
“We are outraged and heartbroken by the recent attacks in West Rafah,” Action Aid UK said in a statement Sunday.
“These shelters were supposed to be safe havens for innocent civilians, yet they became targets of brutal violence,” the organization continued. “Children, women, and men are being burned alive under their tents and shelters.”
Action Aid UK expects the number of casualties to rise.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
May 26, 5:49 PM At least 35 killed, including civilians, in airstrike on Rafah: Gaza Ministry of Health
A deadly airstrike has killed at least 35 people inside western Rafah, near the UNRWA logistics base in Tal Al-Sultan, according to officials at the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.
Numerous individuals remain stuck in a fire that resulted from the airstrike and in the tents destroyed by the bombardment.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the airstrike to ABC News in a statement on Sunday and acknowledged that civilians were harmed as a result of the strike.
“A short while ago, an IDF aircraft struck a Hamas compound in Rafah in which significant Hamas terrorists were operating. The strike was carried out against legitimate targets under international law, using through the use of precise munitions and on the basis of precise intelligence that indicated Hamas’ use of the area,” the IDF said.
“The IDF is aware of reports indicating that as a result of the strike and fire that was ignited several civilians in the area were harmed,” the IDF continued, adding, “The incident is under review.”
(VATICAN CITY) — Pope Francis is apologizing after reports that he used an offensive term for gay men in a recent closed-door meeting.
“Pope Francis is aware of articles that recently came out about a conversation, behind closed doors, with the bishops of the [Italian Bishops Conference],” the Vatican press office said in a statement from Holy See Press Office Director Matteo Bruni.
Italian media sourced the use of the term to unidentified bishops who reportedly overheard Pope Francis’ speech at a meeting of the Italian Bishops’ Conference. They claim in reports that Pope Francis used the term while reinforcing longstanding Church instruction against allowing homosexual men to enter the seminary to train for the priesthood.
“The Pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he extends his apologies to those who were offended by the use of a term, reported by others,” the Vatican’s statement continued. “As he has had the opportunity to state on several occasions, ‘In the Church there is room for everyone, for everyone! No one is useless, no one is superfluous, there is room for everyone. Just as we are, everyone.'”
In 2023, Pope Francis called on a crowd of hundreds of thousands on World Youth Day to yell back at him that the Catholic Church is for “todos, todos, todos” — everyone, everyone, everyone. He was later asked how he could reconcile his “todos” message with the fact that LGBTQ+ people are excluded from the sacraments. The pope answered the Church has laws, but is still a place for everyone.
The pope’s reported use of the slur surprised many. Throughout his papacy, Francis has introduced an openness concerning the LGBTQ community, though he has upheld the church’s position on doctrinal matters.
When a journalist asked Francis a question about gay priests while returning from the first foreign trip of his papacy in 2013, the pope stunned people with his response: “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?”
Pope Francis also has criticized laws that criminalize homosexuality, and has formally approved allowing Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples – a significant change in Vatican guidance.
Pope Francis, whose native language is Spanish and not Italian, has at times during his papacy made up words, or used slang or inappropriate phraseology during his remarks, often while speaking off-the-cuff.
ABC News’ Melissa Gaffney and Ines de la Cuetara contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza over the U.S. Army’s temporary Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) system has been paused after rough seas caused parts of the pier to detach, a U.S. official told ABC News Tuesday.
At a press briefing on Tuesday an Israeli Defense Forces official also confirmed that JLOTS is not functioning after parts broke off during high seas off the coast of Gaza.
That official said that it will likely be a few more days before the pier can resume operations.
The sea conditions in the eastern Mediterranean off the coast of Gaza have already caused issues for the U.S. Army’s temporary pier system, intended to create a maritime corridor for international aid to be delivered from Cyprus into Gaza.
U.S. officials have said that the pier’s operations were always intended to begin slowly and then ramp up as more aid arrived from Cyprus. So far, the U.S. has said that 820 metric tons of aid had made it to shore.
Over the weekend, U.S. Central Command confirmed that four small U.S. Army vessels involved in the transport of cargo from sea to the 1,500 foot causeway attached to a beach in Gaza had broken free as a result of rough seas.
“The vessels broke free from their moorings and two vessels are now anchored on the beach near the pier,” said a statement issued Saturday. “The third and fourth vessels are beached on the coast of Israel near Ashkelon. Efforts to recover the vessels are under way with assistance from the Israeli Navy.”
At the time, CENTCOM said that the Israeli Defense Forces would support the recovery efforts near the pier and that the pier remained fully functional.
The rough seas off of Gaza had earlier led to delay in the initial deployment of the JLOTS systems, forcing the U.S. military to eventually set it up in calmer seas off of Ashdod, Israel, before moving it down to waters off of Gaza.
It is unclear whether this latest setback will lead to consideration of other alternative ways of transporting the aid from Cyprus into Gaza.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — A Virginia man was sentenced to time served and fined $9,000 for bringing ammunition to Turks and Caicos, avoiding a potential 12-year sentence under the islands’ strict gun laws.
Tyler Wenrich, from Richmond, traveled to Grand Turk on a cruise ship for a bachelor party in late April when ammunition was found in his possession while going through a security checkpoint, police said.
The 911 operator and emergency medical technician has remained on the island since being arrested and pleaded guilty on May 21 to two counts of possession of ammunition, for two 9 mm rounds.
“I have a lot of fear and anxiety as to what’s going to happen and I’m hoping that the judge finds some compassion and leniency in the situation that I’m in,” Wenrich told ABC News earlier this month.
Wenrich had gone shooting at a gun range with friends and said he forgot he was carrying the ammunition.
ABC News’ Matt Rivers and Wilkie Arthur contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Internally displaced women wait in a queue to collect aid from a group at a camp in Gadaref on May 12, 2024. (AFP via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — At least 134 people have been killed and another 979 have been wounded since May 10 as fighting intensifies between Sudan’s military and a powerful Sudanese paramilitary force in a major city of the country’s northwestern Darfur region, according to an international aid group.
Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French acronym MSF, said Sunday that the casualties were all recorded at a single hospital in el-Fasher, the provincial capital of Sudan’s North Darfur state. South Hospital is currently the last functioning medical center in North Darfur and only has around 10 days of supplies left, according to the aid group.
MSF said one of its staff members was among those killed when shelling hit his home near el-Fasher’s main marketplace.
Civilians with a range of injuries are arriving in droves at South Hospital in el-Fasher, according to MSF.
“Some have gunshot wounds, some have been wounded by bomb fragments, and others have been wounded by shelling,” Claire Nicolet, MSF’s head of emergency programs, said in a statement last Tuesday.
An estimated 505,000 people have been displaced from their homes in North Darfur since clashes escalated earlier this month between the official Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), according to the United Nations.
“Reports from el-Fasher in Sudan are terrible: deadly attacks on civilians, horrifying accounts of ethnic targeting, people too fearful of checkpoints to even flee,” U.N. High Commissioner of Refugees Filippo Grandi said in a statement last Thursday. “Deliberate violence on civilians must stop.”
A report released last week by the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab found “significant new conflict–related damage to the northeastern, eastern, and southeastern neighborhoods” from May 14 to May 20, as RSF forces gained control in “several directions.”
The SAF and the RSF, as well as their allied militias, have been locked in a bitter battle for control of the resource-rich North African nation since April 2023. The fighting first erupted on the streets of Sudan’s densely populated capital, Khartoum, before spreading elsewhere across the country.
El-Fasher is the last major city in Darfur still in the hands of the SAF. The besieged city is a key humanitarian hub and “safe haven” to an estimated 800,000 people, according to the U.N.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said last Thursday that hostilities have entered an “alarming new chapter” with the humanitarian situation “rapidly deteriorating.”
During last Friday’s U.N. Security Council meeting on the situation in Sudan, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield warned that “history is repeating itself” and “there is no time to waste,” citing the RSF’s tightened siege on el-Fasher and the SAF’s continued obstruction of aid.
“The people of Sudan have endured immense suffering at the hands of the warring parties who continue to plunge the country into a spiral of death and despair,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “Five million Sudanese are on the brink of famine, and tens of millions more are in desperate need of food.”
Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group. (Photo by EYAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war crosses the seven-month mark, negotiations are apparently stalled to secure the release of hostages taken by the terrorist organization, and Israeli forces continue to launch incursions in the southern Gazan town of Rafah ahead of a possible large-scale invasion.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
May 27, 4:30 PM Kuwait Specialized hospital in Rafah out of service
The Kuwait Specialized Hospital in Rafah, one of its largest, announced that the hospital had been out of service due to the expansion of the Israeli military operation on the city and the repeated and deliberate targeting of the hospital’s vicinity, hospital’s director Suhaib Al-Hams said Sunday.
The Israeli occupation repeatedly targeted the hospital, the most recent of which was targeting the hospital gate, which led to the death of two of the staff working there, as well as the injury of five members of the medical staff in a previous targeting, Al-Hams said in a press statement received by Sanad News Agency.
“We announce that the Kuwait Specialized Hospital has been out of service and the working medical teams have been transferred to the field hospital that is being prepared in the Al-Mawasi area,” Al-Hams said.
May 27, 3:39 PM Israel strike hits fuel tank, causing large fire: US official
The U.S. received information from the Israelis overnight that they believe shrapnel or something else from the strike ignited a fuel tank 100 meters away, which engulfed a tent, creating a massive fire, according to a U.S. official.
The U.S. does not have information to confirm or dispute that information. The U.S. is in the process of understanding what has happened, waiting for Israel to conduct its own investigation and determining what action to take next, according to the official.
The U.S. maintains that while they’ve warned about a major ground offensive in Rafah, that’s not what’s happening, according to the official.
May 27, 3:37 PM Hamas leader says Rafah strike shows Israel is defying international law
Commenting on the Rafah strike that killed 50 people, Hamas released a statement saying Israel’s attack on Rafah is like “the announcement of Netanyahu’s government’s defiance of international justice decisions,” referring to the International Court of Justice’s decision last week ordering Israel to stop its operation in Rafah.
“The massacre committed in the areas where its considered safe area,” Hamas leader Osama Hamdan said. “The timing of these murders during the last two days is like the announcement of Netanyahu’s government’s defiance of international justice decisions.”
May 27, 6:17 PM Netanyahu calls strike on Rafah a ‘tragic mishap’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the strike on Rafah which killed at least 50 Palestinians Sunday, a “tragic mishap,” in a speech to Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, Monday.
“We are fighting with force in the north of the Gaza Strip, in its center, its south and in Rafah. In Rafah we have already evacuated about a million uninvolved residents and despite our best efforts not to harm the un-involved, unfortunately a tragic mishap happened last night. We are investigating the case and will draw the conclusions because this is our policy,” Netanyahu said.
May 27, 2:45 PM Death toll from Israeli strike rises to 50
At least 50 people have been confirmed dead in Israel’s strike on Rafah, with a number of victims still under the rubble, the Gaza Health Ministry said in a statement Monday. Ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them the victims, the statement noted.
Since Oct. 7, 36,050 people have been killed in Gaza and 81,026 others have been injured.
“Never before in history has such a large number of mass killing tools been amassed and employed together in front of the world as is happening now in Gaza, where the population is deprived of water, food, medicine, electricity, and fuel, crushing the infrastructure, destroying all institutions, disrupting sanitation, spreading epidemics, crushing the health system, implementing the siege, closing crossings, and preventing the entry of medical supplies and delegations,” the Gaza Health Ministry said.
May 27, 2:15 PM Egyptian border guard killed in shooting at Rafah border
An Egyptian border guard was killed in a shooting in the Rafah border area with Gaza, Egypt’s military spokesman said in a statement on Monday.
“The Egyptian armed forces, through the competent authorities, are investigating a shooting incident in the Rafah border area which led to the martyrdom of one of the security personnel on duty,” the statement said.
The Israeli military had earlier reported an exchange of fire on the Egyptian border and said it was discussing the incident with Egypt.
“A few hours ago (Monday), a shooting incident occurred on the Egyptian border. The incident is under review and discussions are being held with the Egyptians,” the IDF said.
Initial investigations into an incident that killed an Egyptian border guard indicate the incident occurred while there was an exchange of fire between Israeli forces and “the Palestinian resistance,” an Egyptian security source told Egypt’s state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV on Monday.
In October 2023, weeks after the war started, Israel said one of its military tanks mistakenly fired at an Egyptian position near the border with Gaza. Egypt said at the time that several army personnel were slightly injured.
Tensions between Egypt and Israel have escalated after Israeli forces earlier this month seized control of the Rafah border crossing, a key entry point for humanitarian aid. Egypt said it would not reopen its side of the crossing unless it is operated by Palestinians and accused Israel of preventing aid deliveries.
May 27, 1:52 PM UNRWA commissioner general calls scenes of Rafah after strike ‘hell on earth’
The images that have emerged after the Israeli strike on Rafah are a “testament to how Rafah has turned into hell on earth,” Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, said in a post on X.
“Children and women living in tented plastic makeshift shelters are among the killed. Many were injured. Others were reportedly burnt to death. The images from last night are testament to how Rafah has turned into hell on earth,” Lazzarini said went on.
Some UNRWA staff are unaccounted for and it’s very hard to establish contact with UNRWA teams in Rafah, Lazzarini said, adding that the UNRWA is doing its best to bring aid to people in need in Gaza.
“UNRWA is doing everything possible not to interrupt the delivery of humanitarian assistance. But with every day passing, providing assistance & protection becomes nearly impossible,” he said.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
May 27, 1:02 PM White House says images out of Rafah are ‘heartbreaking’ but maintains Israel has ‘a right’ to go after Hamas
The “devastating images” coming out of Rafah are “heartbreaking,” a White House National Security Council spokesperson said in a statement Monday, adding that even though Israel “has a right to go after” Hamas, the country also has to protect civilians.
“Israel has a right to go after Hamas, and we understand this strike killed two senior Hamas terrorists who are responsible for attacks against Israeli civilians,” the spokesperson said. “But as we’ve been clear, Israel must take every precaution possible to protect civilians.”
The spokesperson also said that the U.S. is engaging with the Israeli authorities to figure out “what happened” in addition to the IDF investigation.
-ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart
May 27, 12:18 PM ‘Outraged’: Macron calls for immediate cease-fire after Rafah attack
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned Israel’s attack on Rafah that left at least 45 people dead, saying he was “outraged” and called for “respect for international law” and an “immediate cease-fire.”
“Outraged by the Israeli strikes which caused numerous victims among the displaced in Rafah. These operations must stop. There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian civilians. I call for full respect for international law and an immediate ceasefire,” Macron said in a post on X.
The Israel Defense Forces claimed it took several measures to protect civilians. The strike is now under investigation.
“The General Staff’s Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism is investigating the circumstances of the deaths of civilians in the area of the strike. The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians during combat,” the IDF said in a statement.
The White House has not commented on the attack yet, and the Israeli prime minister’s office has not released a statement.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
May 27, 7:58 AM Dozens killed, hundreds injured in Sunday Rafah strike, Gaza ministry says
Forty-five people were killed and 249 were injured in an IDF strike on Rafah on Sunday, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Monday.
Action Aid UK had on Sunday placed the death toll higher, saying at least 50 people were killed.
IDF officials said the strike had targeted “significant Hamas terrorists” who were operating in a Hamas compound.
“The IDF is aware of reports indicating that as a result of the strike and fire that was ignited several civilians in the area were harmed,” IDF officials said on social media. “The incident is under review.”
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Kevin Shalvey
May 26, 6:44 PM IDF claims 2 top Hamas officials killed in Rafah airstrike
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claimed two top Hamas officials were killed in the deadly airstrike in western Rafah Sunday night.
The IDF said Hamas’ Chief of Staff in the Judea and Samaria wing, Yassin Rabia, and an additional senior Hamas official, Khaled Nagar, were both killed.
“Hamas’ Judea and Samaria wing is responsible for the planning, funding, and carrying out of terror attacks throughout Judea and Samaria and within Israel,” the IDF said in a statement Sunday.
The IDF claimed Rabia was responsible for “numerous murderous terror attacks, including in 2001 and 2002, in which IDF soldiers were killed.”
The IDF also claimed Nagar “directed shooting attacks and other terrorist activities in Judea and Samaria, and transferred funds intended for Hamas’ terrorist activities in the Gaza Strip.”
“Previously, Khaled Nagar carried out several deadly terror attacks between 2001-2003 which led to the deaths of several Israeli civilians and the injury and death of several Israeli soldiers,” the IDF claimed.
The airstrike in Rafah on Sunday also resulted in the deaths of at least 50 individuals, including civilians, according to Action Aid UK.
May 26, 6:18 PM Death toll in Rafah airstrike rises to 50: Action Aid UK
The death toll in the IDF airstrike that hit western Rafah Sunday night has risen to at least 50 individuals, including civilians, according to Action Aid UK.
The organization said Israeli fighter jets launched eight missiles at makeshift shelters housing internally displaced persons next to UNRWA warehouses stocking vital aid.
“We are outraged and heartbroken by the recent attacks in West Rafah,” Action Aid UK said in a statement Sunday.
“These shelters were supposed to be safe havens for innocent civilians, yet they became targets of brutal violence,” the organization continued. “Children, women, and men are being burned alive under their tents and shelters.”
Action Aid UK expects the number of casualties to rise.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
May 26, 5:49 PM At least 35 killed, including civilians, in airstrike on Rafah: Gaza Ministry of Health
A deadly airstrike has killed at least 35 people inside western Rafah, near the UNRWA logistics base in Tal Al-Sultan, according to officials at the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.
Numerous individuals remain stuck in a fire that resulted from the airstrike and in the tents destroyed by the bombardment.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the airstrike to ABC News in a statement on Sunday and acknowledged that civilians were harmed as a result of the strike.
“A short while ago, an IDF aircraft struck a Hamas compound in Rafah in which significant Hamas terrorists were operating. The strike was carried out against legitimate targets under international law, using through the use of precise munitions and on the basis of precise intelligence that indicated Hamas’ use of the area,” the IDF said.
“The IDF is aware of reports indicating that as a result of the strike and fire that was ignited several civilians in the area were harmed,” the IDF continued, adding, “The incident is under review.”
Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group. (Photo by EYAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war crosses the seven-month mark, negotiations are apparently stalled to secure the release of hostages taken by the terrorist organization, and Israeli forces continue to launch incursions in the southern Gazan town of Rafah ahead of a possible large-scale invasion.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
May 27, 7:58 AM Dozens killed, hundreds injured in Sunday Rafah strike, Gaza ministry says
Forty-five people were killed and 249 were injured in an IDF strike on Rafah on Sunday, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Monday.
Action Aid UK had on Sunday placed the death toll higher, saying at least 50 people were killed.
IDF officials said the strike had targeted “significant Hamas terrorists” who were operating in a Hamas compound.
“The IDF is aware of reports indicating that as a result of the strike and fire that was ignited several civilians in the area were harmed,” IDF officials said on social media. “The incident is under review.”
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Kevin Shalvey
May 26, 6:44 PM IDF claims 2 top Hamas officials killed in Rafah airstrike
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claimed two top Hamas officials were killed in the deadly airstrike in western Rafah Sunday night.
The IDF said Hamas’ Chief of Staff in the Judea and Samaria wing, Yassin Rabia, and an additional senior Hamas official, Khaled Nagar, were both killed.
“Hamas’ Judea and Samaria wing is responsible for the planning, funding, and carrying out of terror attacks throughout Judea and Samaria and within Israel,” the IDF said in a statement Sunday.
The IDF claimed Rabia was responsible for “numerous murderous terror attacks, including in 2001 and 2002, in which IDF soldiers were killed.”
The IDF also claimed Nagar “directed shooting attacks and other terrorist activities in Judea and Samaria, and transferred funds intended for Hamas’ terrorist activities in the Gaza Strip.”
“Previously, Khaled Nagar carried out several deadly terror attacks between 2001-2003 which led to the deaths of several Israeli civilians and the injury and death of several Israeli soldiers,” the IDF claimed.
The airstrike in Rafah on Sunday also resulted in the deaths of at least 50 individuals, including civilians, according to Action Aid UK.
May 26, 6:18 PM Death toll in Rafah airstrike rises to 50: Action Aid UK
The death toll in the IDF airstrike that hit western Rafah Sunday night has risen to at least 50 individuals, including civilians, according to Action Aid UK.
The organization said Israeli fighter jets launched eight missiles at makeshift shelters housing internally displaced persons next to UNRWA warehouses stocking vital aid.
“We are outraged and heartbroken by the recent attacks in West Rafah,” Action Aid UK said in a statement Sunday.
“These shelters were supposed to be safe havens for innocent civilians, yet they became targets of brutal violence,” the organization continued. “Children, women, and men are being burned alive under their tents and shelters.”
Action Aid UK expects the number of casualties to rise.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
May 26, 5:49 PM At least 35 killed, including civilians, in airstrike on Rafah: Gaza Ministry of Health
A deadly airstrike has killed at least 35 people inside western Rafah, near the UNRWA logistics base in Tal Al-Sultan, according to officials at the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.
Numerous individuals remain stuck in a fire that resulted from the airstrike and in the tents destroyed by the bombardment.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the airstrike to ABC News in a statement on Sunday and acknowledged that civilians were harmed as a result of the strike.
“A short while ago, an IDF aircraft struck a Hamas compound in Rafah in which significant Hamas terrorists were operating. The strike was carried out against legitimate targets under international law, using through the use of precise munitions and on the basis of precise intelligence that indicated Hamas’ use of the area,” the IDF said.
“The IDF is aware of reports indicating that as a result of the strike and fire that was ignited several civilians in the area were harmed,” the IDF continued, adding, “The incident is under review.”
Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group. (Photo by EYAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war crosses the seven-month mark, negotiations are apparently stalled to secure the release of hostages taken by the terrorist organization, and Israeli forces continue to launch incursions in the southern Gazan town of Rafah ahead of a possible large-scale invasion.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
May 26, 6:44 PM IDF claims 2 top Hamas officials killed in Rafah airstrike
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claimed two top Hamas officials were killed in the deadly airstrike in western Rafah Sunday night.
The IDF said Hamas’ Chief of Staff in the Judea and Samaria wing, Yassin Rabia, and an additional senior Hamas official, Khaled Nagar, were both killed.
“Hamas’ Judea and Samaria wing is responsible for the planning, funding, and carrying out of terror attacks throughout Judea and Samaria and within Israel,” the IDF said in a statement Sunday.
The IDF claimed Rabia was responsible for “numerous murderous terror attacks, including in 2001 and 2002, in which IDF soldiers were killed.”
The IDF also claimed Nagar “directed shooting attacks and other terrorist activities in Judea and Samaria, and transferred funds intended for Hamas’ terrorist activities in the Gaza Strip.”
“Previously, Khaled Nagar carried out several deadly terror attacks between 2001-2003 which led to the deaths of several Israeli civilians and the injury and death of several Israeli soldiers,” the IDF claimed.
The airstrike in Rafah on Sunday also resulted in the deaths of at least 50 individuals, including civilians, according to Action Aid UK.
May 26, 6:18 PM Death toll in Rafah airstrike rises to 50: Action Aid UK
The death toll in the IDF airstrike that hit western Rafah Sunday night has risen to at least 50 individuals, including civilians, according to Action Aid UK.
The organization said Israeli fighter jets launched eight missiles at makeshift shelters housing internally displaced persons next to UNRWA warehouses stocking vital aid.
“We are outraged and heartbroken by the recent attacks in West Rafah,” Action Aid UK said in a statement Sunday.
“These shelters were supposed to be safe havens for innocent civilians, yet they became targets of brutal violence,” the organization continued. “Children, women, and men are being burned alive under their tents and shelters.”
Action Aid UK expects the number of casualties to rise.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
May 26, 5:49 PM At least 35 killed, including civilians, in airstrike on Rafah: Gaza Ministry of Health
A deadly airstrike has killed at least 35 people inside western Rafah, near the UNRWA logistics base in Tal Al-Sultan, according to officials at the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.
Numerous individuals remain stuck in a fire that resulted from the airstrike and in the tents destroyed by the bombardment.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the airstrike to ABC News in a statement on Sunday and acknowledged that civilians were harmed as a result of the strike.
“A short while ago, an IDF aircraft struck a Hamas compound in Rafah in which significant Hamas terrorists were operating. The strike was carried out against legitimate targets under international law, using through the use of precise munitions and on the basis of precise intelligence that indicated Hamas’ use of the area,” the IDF said.
“The IDF is aware of reports indicating that as a result of the strike and fire that was ignited several civilians in the area were harmed,” the IDF continued, adding, “The incident is under review.”
(UKRAINE) — Russian forces struck a Ukrainian shopping center in Kharkiv on Saturday, leaving four people dead and 38 people wounded according to local officials.
Sources in local law enforcement tell ABC News they expect the casualty numbers to rise as this supermarket is usually crowded on weekends and employs dozens of people. Oleh Synyehubov, the Kharkiv governor, said on Ukrainian television that they have so far identified 16 people as officially missing.
Synyehubov also said there was a second strike in Kharkiv that injured 12 people, including a 13-year-old boy.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 200 people were believed to have been in the shopping center when the attack happened. He continued to plead with other nations for support.
“If Ukraine had enough air defense and modern combat aircraft, such Russian strikes would simply be impossible. And that is why we appeal to all leaders, to all states: we need a significant strengthening of air defense and sufficient capabilities to destroy Russian terrorists,” Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post.
ABC News’ Popova Zaliznyak contributed to this report.
