Israel faced a wave of international condemnation Monday over a strike that Gaza officials said killed 45 people when it set off a fire that ripped through a tent city for displaced Palestinians.

Israel said it was looking into the “tragic accident” and its impact on civilians after the latest mass casualty event in the Gaza war, which has
raged since October 7.

Adding to already heightened tensions since Israel launched a ground operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah in early May, the Israeli and
Egyptian militaries reported a “shooting incident” Monday that killed one Egyptian guard in the border area between Egypt and the southern Gaza Strip.

Both forces said they were investigating.

Israel’s military said Sunday evening’s attack in the southern Rafah area had targeted and killed two senior Hamas operatives — but it also sparked a fire that Palestinians and many Arab countries condemned as a “massacre”.

A US National Security Council spokesperson said Israel “must take every precaution possible to protect civilians”.