UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting over Israel Rafah carnage

The meeting was requested by Algeria, the diplomat said.

The Security Council will hold private discussions on Tuesday afternoon at 3.30 p.m., the diplomat added.

UN Secretary-General Antònio Guterres issued a blistering condemnation on Monday.

“I condemn Israel’s actions which killed scores of innocent civilians who were only seeking shelter from this deadly conflict,” Guterres said on X.

“There is no safe place in Gaza. This horror must stop,” he added.

International outcry is mounting over Israel’s airstrike on a camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah that killed at least 45 people and wounded 200 others, many of whom were women and children.

In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the strike a “tragic mistake” and claimed that Israel was investigating the incident.

Several global aid organizations penned a joint letter on Monday calling on the UN Security Council to enforce the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) orders that Israel “immediately halt” its military offensive in Rafah.

“Immediate action is required to uphold international law and ensure the government of Israel meets its obligations as mandated by the ICJ,” the letter read.

Despite the order, “bloodshed has continued”, the letter read.

“We call on the UN Security Council to take decisive action to ensure the ICJ’s orders are implemented, allowing humanitarian aid to reach those in need and enabling thorough investigations into violations of international law,” it stressed.

“The Security Council must act now to uphold justice, protect human rights, and maintain international peace and security. Failure to do so would further compromise the conditions to sustain human life in Gaza and would undermine global trust in the primacy of international law.”

More than 36,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israel’s aerial and ground bombardments on the Palestinian territory.