Türkiye’s Presidential Communications Directorate rejected Israel’s claims that the deadly May 26 strike targeted “Hamas members” at a location outside the designated safe zone.
“Contrary to what was claimed, the region shelled by occupying Israel on May 26 was a "safe zone" in Rafah that housed civilians seeking refuge from Israeli attacks, not a Hamas headquarters,” the directorate said in a statement on Tuesday.
On May 6, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) made an official statement, saying that the safe zone in the al-Mawasi region was expanded.
“The post stated that the occupation will extend from Deir al-Balah in the north to Blocks 2323, 2371, and 2360 in the south and east to the centre of Khan Younis city,” the directorate said, adding that Israeli authorities told Palestinian civilians to go to the safe zone.
The announcements were sent to civilians via text messages, phone calls and publications in Arabic, the directorate said.
“On May 22, IDF Spokesperson Avichay Adraee declared that the coordinates were secure. Hence, Israel attacked the area to which civilians had been sent under the guise of a safe zone,” the directorate said, adding that global non-governmental organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), have confirmed in statements that Israel targeted civilians in numerous attacks.
Israel targeted another evacuation zone on Tuesday, killing at least 21 people in Rafah.
The attack prompted a wave of international condemnation, with Palestinians and many Arab countries calling it a "massacre," Israel said it was looking into the "tragic accident."
"There is no safe place in Gaza. This horror must stop," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres posted on social media.
U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths pointed to the widespread warnings of civilian deaths that circulated ahead of Israel's incursion into Rafah, saying in a statement: "We've seen the consequences in last night's utterly unacceptable attack."
"To call it 'a mistake' is a message that means nothing for those killed, those grieving, and those trying to save lives," he added.
Israel has killed over 36,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in the Gaza Strip since, according to the Gazan Health Ministry.
