US says Israel Rafah assault still ‘limited’ after deadly bombing killed 45

The United States said Tuesday it still considers Israel’s assault on the southern Gazan city of Rafah to be “limited in scope” despite a weekend attack that left 45 people dead as a blaze tore through a camp for displaced people.

“Right now it is still our assessment that what is happening in Rafah, what the [Israeli army] is doing, it is limited in scope,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said.

Global outrage erupted after the Sunday strike by Israel.

Israel has called the loss of life “a tragic accident” and its army said Tuesday its munitions alone could not have caused the deadly blaze, adding that it had targeted and killed two senior Hamas militants in the strike.

Earlier State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Israel’s preliminary investigation suggested that the strike was carried out using “the smallest bomb in their arsenal.”

Singh said the administration was waiting for the Israeli army to conclude its investigation into the incident before commenting further.

But she said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had engaged in “direct and frank conversations” with the Israeli government and US officials would continue to do so.

“We certainly take seriously what happened over the weekend. We’ve all seen the images. They’re absolutely horrific,” Singh added.