‘This was no mistake’: Survivors of Israel’s ‘tragic mishap’ in Rafah recount horror and flames

“In this safe zone, there were screams of people trapped inside the camp, set on fire alive, as they desperately pleaded for help,” a survivor said.

Mohamed Solaimane

30 May, 2024

Words fail me – tears are the only answer – Mark

It’s been four days since Monday’s Israeli air strike on a displacement camp in the north of Rafah burned at least 45 people alive, most of whom were women and children. On the face of Samir Abu Al-Sabh, 62, traces of shock still linger as he sits idly on a small chair in the middle of his burnt-down shed, where he narrowly escaped death. He eyed the charred luggage and the remnants of a meal which a family was having when the tragedy unfolded.

“I was sitting in a makeshift shed made of tin, waiting for dinner when I heard the sound of two successive explosions,” Abu Al-Sabh recounted the night of the strike to The New Arab, adding, “The place was immediately set ablaze, and the fire exceeded three metres high. I tried to escape, but the door led directly to the blazing fire, so I rushed in the opposite direction, but my strength failed me and I couldn’t escape without assistance.”

Abu Al-Sabh found himself surrounded by flames. He called for help from those outside, until one of his relatives heard him and tried to make a dent in the tin. He was miraculously saved. The fire quickly caught onto the nylon and fabric refugee tents, rapidly consuming the camp and its people.

Having made it outside his shed, he saw people burning alive and corpses scattered all over.