Israel slammed over Rafah strikes as death toll hits 45

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Monday that the death toll from an Israeli air strike on a camp housing displaced Palestinians in Rafah had risen to 45.

"The Rafah massacre yesterday left 45 martyrs, including 23 women, children and elderly. There are 249 others who were wounded," the ministry said in a statement, updating the previous toll.

Israel's army said the air strikes late Sunday, hours after a rocket attack had targeted Tel Aviv, had killed two senior Hamas operatives, and that it was investigating the reports of civilians killed in a fire.

The Israeli attack sparked strong protests from Türkiye, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait and from Qatar which warned it could "hinder" budding steps to revive stalled truce and hostage release talks in the Israel-Hamas war raging since Oct. 7.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Türkiye would do "everything possible" to hold "barbaric" Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to account over deadly strikes in Rafah.

"We will do everything possible to hold these barbarians and murderers accountable who have nothing to do with humanity," Erdogan said during an event in Istanbul on May 27.

Gaza's civil defense agency said Monday that many bodies were "charred" after the strikes triggered a fire that ripped through a displacement centre in northwest Rafah.

"We saw charred bodies and dismembered limbs ... We also saw cases of amputations, wounded children, women and the elderly,"  agency official Mohammad al-Mughayyir said.

Footage released by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society showed chaotic night-time scenes of paramedics in ambulances racing to the fiery attack site and evacuating the wounded, including children.

"We had just done with the...