ISRAEL has released an intercepted call that may suggest a “secondary explosion” at a Hamas ammo depot could have been responsible for the inferno in Rafah.
It is part of the evidence Israel’s military is using to claim its airstrike alone “could not” have caused the “tragic” fire that swept through a refugee camp on Sunday.
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Israel is facing down international condemnation after an airstrike said to be targeting Hamas commanders sparked a blaze that reportedly killed 45 Palestinians.
Some were burned alive in their tents while hundreds more were wounded as they sheltered in the southern Gazan city.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday called it “a tragic accident” as the EU warned it could impose economic sanctions.
As part of Israel Defence Forces’ (IDF) probe into the strike, it aired a wiretapped call between two Palestinians that raises “the possibility that weapons stored in a nearby compound caught fire”.
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In the recording posted on X, one speaker appears to be describing how the two targeted Hamas terrorists had been sat close to the weapons depot.
Then, the voice said: “All of ammunition that started exploding. Bags of money were flying in the air.”
A second speaker replies: “These were really ours?”
“Yes, this is an ammunition warehouse. I tell you it exploded.
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“I mean the Jewish bombing wasn’t strong, it was a small missile because it didn’t create a large hole. And afterwards a lot of secondary explosions”.
The alleged call comes as chief IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari argued today: “Our munition alone could not have ignited a fire of this size”.
Hagari said the army had gathered “precise intelligence” before the strike, including aerial surveillance, as part of an effort to “minimise civilian harm”.
Hagari said the cause of the fire following the strike was still undetermined.
“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.”
Hagari also showed satellite imagery that he said showed Hamas rocket launchers about 40m from the structure that had been targeted in the strike.
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He added: “Despite our efforts to minimise civilian casualties, the fire that broke out was unexpected and unintended,” he said.
Hagari pledged that the army would carry out a “swift, comprehensive and transparent” investigation.
Meanwhile, Israeli tanks have seized control of parts of central and eastern Rafah after Netanyahu vowed to push on with Israel’s assault on the city.
The attack on the border city began on May 6 and has caused more than one million people to flee the city, the UN said on Tuesday.
Families are now scattered across makeshift tent camps and other war-ravaged areas.
Israeli air shelling and air strikes is said to have killed at least 37 people Monday night through to Tuesday as they pummelled the area close to the site of Sunday’s deadly inferno.
The US and other allies of Israel have warned against a full-fledged invasion of the city.
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The Biden administration has said such an offensive would cross a red line and refusing to provide offensive arms for it.
It follows as Spain, Norway and Ireland formally recognised a Palestinian state on Tuesday.
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Source: Sun
