Tel al-Sultan attack

On 26 May 2024, the Israeli Air Force bombed a displacement camp in Tel al-Sultan, Rafah. The attack, which set the camp on fire, killed between 45 and 50 Palestinians and injured more than 200. Sometimes referred to as the Rafah tent massacre or as the Tent Massacre (Arabic: مجزرة الخيم, romanized: Majzarat al-khiyam), it was the deadliest incident of the Rafah offensive.

When Israel invaded Rafah and ordered the evacuation of its east, some citizens fled to other parts of the city, like Tel al-Sultan, seeking safety. One week before the bombing, Israel had designated the neighborhood as a "safe zone" and dropped leaflets instructing Palestinians to move there. Two days before the attack, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to halt its offensive, but Israel interpreted the order differently and continued its operations.

On the night of the attack, Israel struck the neighborhood with two U.S. made GBU-39 glide bombs. The bombs ignited a fire in the "Kuwaiti Peace" tent camp; many civilians were trapped and burned alive. Israel killed four militants and injured one commander. It claimed it attacked an outer "Hamas compound" and accidentally set off the fire. However, videos and satellite images showed that the location of the airstrike was inside the refugee camp itself, and some sources alleged Israel deliberately targeted civilians. Military analysts stated that bombs used by Israel have a large effect radius, and therefore should not have been used in a densely populated civilian area. An investigation by Amnesty International concluded that militants were in the camp, but that Israel knowingly put civilians at risk. Images of the attack spread internationally, described as "some of the worst" of the war.

After evacuation orders were issued by Israel during the Gaza war, many areas of Gaza became depopulated, with refugees primarily traveling to Rafah. Rafah became dense and overcrowded, with over 1.4 million civilians sheltering in the area. However, when Israel first invaded the city, it ordered the eastern neighborhoods evacuated. An estimated 950,000 civilians fled, going to other parts of southern Gaza designated as safe, including where the attack took place in western Rafah.

Two days before the attack, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to halt the Rafah offensive. However, Israel interpreted the order as merely to comply with international law, not necessarily stop the offensive, and continued. The Euro-Med Monitor reported that in the 48 hours since the order was issued, Israel had launched over 60 airstrikes in the city. The attack came shortly after Hamas launched rockets at Tel Aviv, the first salvo fired at the city since approximately late January 2024. The IDF said eight rockets were fired from the Rafah area, though were intercepted.

Many sources reported that the area that Israel attacked had previously been designated by Israel as a "safe zone". CBC News showed pictures of Israeli leaflets that read:

For your safety, the Israeli Defence Force is asking you to leave these areas immediately and to go to known shelters in Deir el Balah or the humanitarian area in Tel al-Sultan through Beach Road. And don't blame us after we warned you.

NPR reported that Israeli leaflets urging civilians to evacuate to Tel al-Sultan had been dropped one week before the bombing. Witnesses speaking to Agence France Press confirmed they only came to Tel al-Sultan on instructions from IDF leaflets. Abed Mohammed Al-Attar, whose family would later be killed in the attack, said the Israeli forces had told residents that this area was a safe zone. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society stated that the location had been designated by Israel as a "humanitarian area" and it was not included in areas that Israel's military ordered evacuated earlier this month.