The BBC published an article following the May 26 Israeli attack on displaced people’s tents in Gaza’s Rafah, reading: “Their operations so far have not resulted in a bloodbath,” referring to Israel’s actions in the southern besieged enclave.
The article soon drew outrage from internet users, and the paragraph making light of the deadly toll the Israeli attack had on civilian casualties has since been removed.
On May 26, Israeli forces launched airstrikes on a tent camp of displaced Palestinians, which was located in an area initially declared a ‘safe zone’ in Rafah.
When US-made bombs exploded in the congested tent city, it sparked a blaze which spread quickly amongst the flammable plastic tents, killing at least 45 people and leading to many civilians being ‘burned alive’.
The pictures and videos of dismembered and charred bodies – some of them belonging to babies – raised an international outcry as tens of thousands of people around the world took to the streets in protest.
Initially described by Israeli forces as a precision attack targeting senior Hamas leaders, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed the next day that it was a “tragic mistake.”
