Israel's 'impunity cannot continue': UN relief chief

By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - The UN relief chief on Monday condemned the Israeli airstrike on a camp of displaced people in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, saying "such impunity cannot continue."

"Another grim update from Gaza. Israel’s airstrike on Rafah last night reportedly killed scores of people, many of them women and children burned alive," Martin Griffiths wrote on X.

Noting the challenges that persists in delivering aid to Gaza, Griffiths said: "We’re still unable to pick up goods from Kerem Shalom at the scale needed due to impediments and active fighting."

Griffiths called for immediate action to protect civilians and ensure their safety, saying: "Such impunity cannot continue. Protect civilians. Allow them to find safety. Allow them to get aid."

At least 45 people, mostly women and children, were killed and nearly 250 others injured in an Israeli strike on a camp for displaced people in Rafah on Sunday.

The attack occurred near the logistics base of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in Tal al-Sultan, said the Gaza-based Government Media Office.

Israel has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 last year.

The military campaign has turned much of the enclave of 2.3 million people into ruins, leaving most civilians homeless and at risk of famine.

The attack came despite a ruling by the International Court of Justice that ordered Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.