By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON (AA) - The US urged Israel to investigate itself on Tuesday after it carried out a deadly airstrike on an internally displaced persons camp over the weekend that killed and wounded dozens of Palestinian civilians.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said there are no changes to US policy in the wake of Sunday's strike, which resulted in what he called a "tragic loss of life."
The US, he said, immediately reached out to Israel as news of the strike broke "to express our deep concern over what happened, ask for more information, and urge them to undertake a full investigation."
He added that the US has "seen Israel's claim that it might have been the result of hitting a Hamas ammo depot."
"It's not clear to me that they actually know, but they need to find out, they need to conduct the investigation. And we're going to eagerly await the investigation and press them to make sure that the results of that investigation are presented openly and transparently to us and to the world," he told reporters.
"We've seen preliminary results. We want to see the full results," he added.
At least 45 people were killed, mostly women and children, and nearly 250 injured in the strike. It 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's nearly eight-month war on Gaza has led to more than 36,000 deaths in the war-torn coastal enclave and has injured over 81,100 additional victims.
A Hamas-led cross-border attack that precipitated the current conflict left less than 1,200 people dead, with hundreds more taken to Gaza as hostages.
Israel's military campaign has turned much of the enclave of 2.3 million people into ruins, leaving most civilians homeless and at risk of famine.
Sunday's attack came despite a ruling by the International Court of Justice last week that ordered Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the worsening conflict.