The Palestinian Authority, the Arab Parliament, and aid organizations have decried the “heinous massacre” at a displacement camp in Tal as-Sultan, southern Rafah, after an Israeli attack on May 26 killed 40 civilians, with reports of women and children being “burned alive”.

The Arab Parliament, the legislative body of the Arab League, on Monday issued a statement on its website saying the “massacre of the occupation entity” at a tent camp for internally displaced people near Rafah “is a blatant challenge and violation of humanitarian law and requires urgent international intervention”.

Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the West Bank and Gaza, noted on her X account that that as the ICJ ordered Israel to stop its offensive in Rafah, but Israel “intensifies its attacks on it”

The statement stressed that the failure to hold Israel accountable for its crimes and the massacres it commits against the Palestinian people and the failure to take any deterrent measures against it, makes it continue to kill and destroy, Palestine’s WAFA News Agency reported.

READ MORE: Israeli airstrikes kill at least 35 in Rafah, Gaza authorities say

The statement also noted that the positions of the countries supporting Israel, led by the United States, are the main reason for it continuing to commit more crimes and massacres,” WAFA reported.

Posting on X, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) said its aircraft “struck a Hamas compound in Rafah” where “significant Hamas terrorists were operating”. “The IDF is aware of reports indicating that as a result of the strike and fire that was ignited several civilians in the area were harmed. The incident is under review,” it said.

Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the West Bank and Gaza, noted on her X account that that as the ICJ ordered Israel to stop its offensive in Rafah, but Israel “intensifies its attacks on it”.

She said Israel “will not stop this madness until we make it stop”. Member states, the UN rapporteur add, must impose sanctions, arms embargo and suspend diplomatic or political relations with Israel “till it ceases its assault”.

ActionAid, another global humanitarian group, released a statement saying they were “outraged and heartbroken” after Israeli fighter jets launched eight missiles at makeshift shelters housing internally displaced persons next to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) warehouses stocking vital aid.

“These shelters were supposed to be safe havens for innocent civilians, yet they became targets of brutal violence. Children, women, and men are being burned alive under their tents and shelters,” the group said.

Awadallah said a Security Council resolution under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which lays out the UNSC’s powers to maintain peace, is what we all need for Israel to stop its aggression and operations in Gaza

“The images coming from our partners of burned bodies are a scar on the face of humanity and the global community, which so far has failed to protect the people of Gaza. …Nobody's safety is guaranteed in Gaza.”

Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates for the United Nations and Specialized Agencies of the State of Palestine Omar Awadallah told China Daily that they were working with the International Criminal Court and the ICJ to “ask countries to act”, as well as working toward a resolution at the UN Security Council (UNSC).

“From the Security Council, we want a resolution that calls to end immediately the Israeli aggression and the attacks and operations, vicious operations against our Palestinian people,” said Awadallah, who is also in charge of overseeing Palestine’s affairs at the ICJ.

Awadallah said a Security Council resolution under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which lays out the UNSC’s powers to maintain peace, is what we all need for Israel to stop its aggression and operations in Gaza.

“Israel is acting as a state that is not compatible with international law and a state that is against international law,” Awadallah said. “It thinks that it is above the international law because of the impunity granted to it by the US.”

Medicins Sans Frontieres International (MSF), condemned Israel’s attack on displaced Palestinians in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

MSF said it was “horrified by this deadly event”, which showed once again that “nowhere is safe”.

Qatar said it was concerned the latest attacks would complicate ongoing mediation efforts and hinder reaching an agreement on an immediate and permanent cease-fire in Gaza, including the exchange of prisoners and detainees

It said that following an Israeli air strike, dozens of wounded and more than 15 dead were brought to an MSF-supported trauma and stabilization point. The group also called for an immediate and sustained cease-fire in Gaza.

Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, Israeli military prosecutor, said at a conference hosted by the Israel Bar Association that they were investigating the “very grave” Rafah incident and were committed to conducting the probe “to the fullest extent”, according to a report by Al Jazeera.

Aida Touma-Sliman, a Palestinian citizen of Israel and a legislator in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, denounced the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for taking “madness and vindictiveness to a new criminal level” in the wake of the latest attack on Rafah.

Touma-Sliman noted that the latest bombings fell on a dense area of displaced residents that Israel had previously declared a “safe” area.

She said the clear demands of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Israel stop any attacks that would harm an innocent civilian population are being trampled on.

READ MORE: 112 Palestinians killed in Gaza as Israel fires on aid seekers

Meanwhile, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Israel’s bombardment of the camp in a statement.

Qatar said it was concerned the latest attacks would complicate ongoing mediation efforts and hinder reaching an agreement on an immediate and permanent cease-fire in Gaza, including the exchange of prisoners and detainees.

This risks further exacerbating “the effects of this war and its repercussions on regional and international security”, the statement said.

Contact the writer at jan@chinadailyapac.com