[A photograph of IDF soldiers: Pixabay]

An Israeli air strike on a camp for displaced Palestinians in the Gazan city of Rafah has left at least 45 civilians dead, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

The strike occurred on Sunday and targeted the Tal al-Sultan area; footage from the region showed a large explosion and intense fire.

Approximately 1.5 million civilians had sought refuge in Rafah prior to Israel’s “targeted” ground operations to eliminate the last remaining Hamas forces and rescue hostages it believed were being held there.

Prior to the strike, Israel had been the subject of international condemnation and received a ruling from the International Court of Justice ordering them to cease their military operation in Rafah which read: “in conformity with its obligations under the Genocide Convention, Israel must immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah Governorate, which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part”.

In response to the ruling, Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi claimed in a statement that: "Israel has not and will not carry out military operations in the Rafah area that create living conditions that could cause the destruction of the Palestinian civilian population, in whole or in part".

The Israel Defence Forces(IDF) has claimed responsibility for the strike, labelling it as an “intelligence-based strike in the area of Rafah against significant terror targets in the area of Rafah”.

The IDF have further announced they have killed two "senior Hamas terrorists" whom they have identified as Yassin Rabia, the chief of staff of the Hamas fighters in the West Bank, and Khaled Nagar, another senior official accused of orchestrating and carrying out attacks on Israel.

The head of the Hamas-run government media office, Ismail al-Thawabta claimed that the camp in question was far from any recent military activities and that Israel had “called on citizens and displaced persons to go to these safe zones”.

In response, the IDF stated that: "The strike did not occur in the humanitarian area in al-Mawasi, to which the IDF has encouraged civilians to evacuate."

The IDF has additionally claimed that it has taken sufficient precautions as to prevent civilian casualties, with an official statement reading: “Before the strike, a number of steps were taken to reduce the risk of harming uninvolved civilians during the strike, including conducting aerial surveillance, the deployment of precise munitions by the IAF, and additional intelligence information” and “Based on these measures, it was assessed that there would be no expected harm to uninvolved civilians... The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians during combat”.

Hours prior to the strike on Rafah, Hamas had fired eight rockets at the Israeli city of Tel-Aviv, most of which were intercepted by air defence systems or fell in fields.

Since the air strike, IDF tanks have carried out intense bombardments of eastern and central areas in Rafah, which local health officials claim resulted in the death of at least eight people. Two medical workers are also reported to have been killed by a missile from a drone as they were leaving a Rafah hospital.