Netanyahu says Israel investigating deadly 'incident' near Rafah

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was investigating “an incident” in which dozens of civilians were killed in Israeli airstrikes near the southern Gaza town of Rafah.

“In Rafah, we evacuated about a million civilians,” Netanyahu said Monday in a speech to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, in Jerusalem.

“Tragically, despite our immense efforts to avoid harm to non-combatants, an incident occurred yesterday. We are investigating it thoroughly and will learn from it, as will our long-standing policy and conduct.”

“For us, any injury to a non-combatant is a tragedy, for Hamas, it is a strategy,” Netanyahu said. “That’s the fundamental difference.”

Hamas-run Gaza health authorities said 45 people were killed and dozens more injured in the airstrike that hit tents housing displaced people on Sunday.

Most of the victims of the airstrike were women and children, health authorities said, calling the incident a “massacre.”