Blast in Hamas ammunition dump caused Rafah refugee camp tragedy, says Israel

The Israeli military declared on Tuesday that its weapons “could not” have started the catastrophic fire in the southern city of Rafah that killed 45 people, according to Gaza health officials.

“Our munition alone could not have ignited a fire of this size,” Hagari said in a press briefing on the preliminary findings of an army probe into the deadly blaze that has drawn international condemnation.

The attack on Sunday in northwest Rafah, according to the Israeli military, targeted and killed two top Hamas members. The attack also set off a fire that destroyed a tent housing hundreds of displaced Palestinians.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, described the event as “a tragic accident” on Monday.

Hagari stated that aircraft launched two 17-kilogram bombs on the target “based on precise intelligence,” adding that the target was distant from tent shelters that were housing displaced civilians.

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“We are looking into all possibilities, including the option that weapons stored in a compound next to our target… may have ignited as a result of the strike.”

Then, Hagari played back a tape of a conversation he claimed Israeli intelligence had intercepted, in which he suggested “the possibility that weapons stored in a nearby compound caught fire”.

“Despite our efforts to minimise civilian casualties, the fire that broke out was unexpected and unintended,” he said, adding the incident was still under investigation.