India expresses 'deep concern' over Israeli airstrike on camp for displaced people in Rafah

By Ahmad Adil

NEW DELHI (AA) - India on Thursday expressed “deep concern” over Sunday’s Israeli airstrike on a camp for displaced people in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip.

“The heartbreaking loss of civilian lives in the displacement camp in Rafah is a matter of deep concern for us,” Randhir Jaiswal, spokesman of the Indian Foreign Ministry, told a news conference.

Noting that India has "consistently called for the protection of civilian population and respect for international humanitarian law in the ongoing conflict," the spokesman, while responding to a question, added: “Israeli side has already accepted responsibility for it as a tragic accident and announced an investigation into the incident.”

The airstrike on a tent camp housing displaced Palestinians in Rafah killed at least 45 civilians, mostly women and children, and injured around 300 others last Sunday. It has drawn global condemnation.

Israel has launched a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, killing more than 36,200 people and injuring 81,400 others.

Nearly eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in its latest ruling has ordered it to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.