Deadly strike on Rafah a tragic mishap, Netanyahu says

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the strike which killed scores of displaced Palestinians in Rafah was a "tragic mishap".

Mr Netanyahu told the Israeli parliament it was vital that Israel took "every precaution possible" to protect civilians caught up in the fighting in Gaza.

He told MPs that an investigation into the incident was under way, but insisted that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had used their "best efforts not to harm those uninvolved" in the conflict.

The intervention comes amid increasing international condemnation of the strike, with the EU insisting that Israel follow a ruling last week by the International Court of Justice to stop attacks in Rafah.

The White House House also urged Israel to take every precaution to protect civilians in Gaza.

"As we've been clear, Israel must take every precaution possible to protect civilians. We are actively engaging the IDF and partners on the ground to assess what happened," a National Security Council spokesperson said in a statement.

"In Rafah we already evacuated about one million non-combatant residents and despite our outmost effort not to harm non-combatants, something unfortunately went tragically wrong," Mr Netanyahu said.

"We are investigating the incident and will reach conclusions because this is our policy."

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