ISRAEL has released an intercepted call suggesting that a 'secondary explosion' at a Hamas ammunition depot could have been responsible for the Rafah inferno.
It is part of the evidence the Israeli military is using to claim that the airstrike itself 'could not' have caused the 'tragic'. fire that ripped through a refugee camp on Sunday.
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Israel is facing international condemnation after a air raid Hamas commanders are said to have been targeted and caused a fire that reportedly killed 45 Palestinians.
Some were burned alive in their tents, while hundreds of others were injured as they took shelter in the southern city of Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday called it “a tragic accident” as the EU warned it could impose economic sanctions.
As part of Israel The Defense Forces (IDF) investigation into the attack broadcast a wiretapped conversation between two Palestinians that raised “the possibility that weapons stored in a nearby compound caught fire.”
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In the recording posted on Xa speaker appears to describe how the two intended Hamas terrorists were close to the weapons depot.
Then the voice said, “All the ammunition started exploding. Bags of money flew through the air.”
A second speaker responds, “These were really ours?”
'Yes, this is an ammunition magazine. I'm telling you it blew up.
“I mean the Jewish bombing wasn't strong, it was a small rocket because it didn't create a big hole. And then there were a lot of secondary explosions.”
The so-called call comes as IDF chief spokesman Vice Admiral Daniel Hagari argued today: “Our ammunition alone could not have ignited a fire of this magnitude.”
Hagari said the military had gathered “precise intelligence” before the attack, including aerial surveillance, as part of an effort to “minimize damage to the civilian population.”
Hagari said the cause of the fire after the strike has still not been determined.
“We are investigating all possibilities, including the possibility that weapons stored in a compound adjacent to our target… may have been set on fire as a result of the attack.”
Hagari also showed satellite images that he said showed Hamas rocket launchers about 40 meters away from the structure targeted in the attack.
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He added: “Despite our efforts to minimize civilian casualties, the fire that broke out was unexpected and unintentional,” he said.
Hagari promised that the military would conduct a “rapid, comprehensive and transparent” investigation.
Meanwhile, Israeli tanks have done just that seized control of parts of central and eastern Rafah after Netanyahu vowed to continue Israel's assault on the city.
The attack on the border town began on May 6 and has led to more than a million people fleeing the city, the UN said on Tuesday.
Families are now scattered in makeshift tent camps and other war-ravaged areas.
Israeli shelling and airstrikes are believed to have killed at least 37 people from Monday night to Tuesday as they pounded the area close to the site of Sunday's deadly inferno.
The US and other allies of Israel have warned of a full-fledged invasion of the city.
The Biden administration has said such an offensive would cross a red line and refused to supply offensive weapons for it.
This follows Spain, Norway and Ireland formally recognized a Palestinian state on Tuesday.
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