On Monday, May 27, an Israeli airstrike on the Palestinian city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip resulted in a humanitarian catastrophe. The strike hit a designated humanitarian area, where displaced civilians were seeking shelter in tents, sparking a fire that claimed the lives of dozens of people, including women and children.

The devastating attack drew swift condemnation from world leaders, coming just days after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to halt its offensive on the southern Gaza Strip, where over a million people had sought refuge.

The aftermath of the strike was marked by harrowing images shared on social media, showing people engulfed in flames and severely burned corpses, including a heart-wrenching scene of a man holding what appeared to be the headless body of a small child. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed that the strike targeted two senior Hamas leaders and did not hit a designated humanitarian area, but this assertion has been met with skepticism and outrage.

The international community has been swift in its condemnation, with Qatar warning that the strike could hinder efforts to reach a cease-fire deal, which had been renewed in Europe over the weekend. Egypt's military also reported that one of its soldiers was killed in a firefight with Israeli forces at the Rafah border area, further escalating tensions.

The IDF has acknowledged that a "shooting incident occurred on the Egyptian border" and is under review, but the death toll continues to rise, with the Gaza health ministry reporting at least 45 people killed, mostly women and children. The Palestinian Civil Defense in Rafah has described the attack as the "largest massacre in the city of Rafah in months," with the area hit being a designated "humanitarian area" next to UN warehouses.

Humanitarian organizations like Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) have also spoken out, with their emergency coordinator in Gaza, Samuel Johann, stating that the strike hit just under a mile from an MSF stabilization point for trauma patients, receiving dozens of people, with at least 28 already dead and 180 arriving injured.

As the situation continues to unfold, it is clear that the international community must take immediate action to protect civilians and hold those responsible for this devastating attack accountable. The people of Rafah and the wider Gaza Strip deserve justice, compassion, and protection from the horrors of war.